Valica Phoenix Girl Born From Ashes
by Nic Oakes
Summary: I screamed, and then some arose from the ashes. A fully groan phoenix emerged and flew towards the open down. I looked back at the unmasked figure and I met cold grey eyes, platinum blonde hair, and a pale face. "Wingardium Leviosa!" Draco Malfoy hissed. Sequel to 'A Twist Called Valica Quem'
1. Prolouge

_I was so sick and tired of this stupid nightmare._

_The same scene flashed before my eyes each and every night. I hadn't had one dreamless night for the past two months._

_I was wondering around in my old house in Russia—the one I had lived in until I was three with my mom. I didn't think I remembered it, but it seemed like my brain had stored the images somewhere deep with my memory.  
It was definitely my house though. I don't know how I knew… but I did._

_I entered through the front door. I don't know where I was coming from, but it must have not been that important._

_The door I entered, led into the kitchen. The walls were wood, as was the floor, and the cabinets lining the walls were a creamy white color. There was a round cream-colored table in the middle of the room, with two chairs. One of the chairs had books stacked, as if to help a small child reach the top of the table.  
There was an old-fashioned wood stove, a sink, and a refrigerator, but that was it. I continued through the swinging door, into the living room.  
The slight clunking my shoes had been making against the wood floor went silent as I entered the carpeted room. The carpet was also a light cream color.  
I had dreamed of this room once when I was in the Hospital Wing at Hogwarts. Except for then, everything had been covered in dust.  
Now everything was clean, and spotless… kind of._

_There was a burgundy sofa pushed against the wall, and a glass coffee table in the center of the room. On the other side of the room was an old fashioned radio, a book case that was covered in fashion magazines, cooking magazines, cleaning magazines, and about a dozen books that ranged from Muggle Classics, to Wizard Children Fairytales.  
Along the walls hung portraits that would have made me get teary eyed if I was here in real life. I recognized one of my mum and Lily Potter as teenagers.  
There was another one with my mum where she looked about or nineteen or twenty years old and she had her arms around a young Sirius Black's waist. He was holding a baby that couldn't be more than a few months old.  
There were more photos of me and my mom. I noticed that even though she was laughing in most of them, her eyes still held a tinge of sadness. _

_Spread along the coffee table were old newspapers, headlines saying  
'Two Year Anniversary of He-Who-Shall-Not-Be-Named's Demise'  
'The Boy Who Lived Still Not Making An Appearance'  
'Memorial Service For the Twelve Muggles and Peter Pettigrew—Two Years Later'_

_I read the titles but I wasn't really processing it. As I said, I had seen this entire thing before.  
Right on cue, the door opened, "Valica, it's time to come in!"  
After a few second a little girl's voice could be heard, "Mummy! Mummy! I got you flowers! Are they pretty?"_

"_Did you? Let me see! Oh wow, they are pretty!" My mum's voice floated through the air. "Let me get a vase, and we'll put them in the living room."_

_I paused and waited. After a bit the woman and the girl came in, the girl was riding on her mother's back. Her mum was holding a light baby blue vase, which had a fleur de lis design on it. Inside the vase were many flowers.  
\in this memory—I could vividly see what was going on, but they were unaware of me.  
My mum sat the flowers down in the center of the glass coffee table. The little girl let go and slumped off her back. She peered closely at the flowers. "Why did you put water in the vase?"  
"Because if you don't add water, the flowers will die really quickly."  
"Mummy, I don't want these flowers to die!"  
My mum hesitated, "Valica, they are going to have to die eventually."  
Tears came to the little girl's eyes. "B-but, Mum, I don't want these flowers to die!"  
"Everything dies." She said, scooping her child into her arms.  
The little girl struggled against her mother though."I don't want them to die." The little girl sobbed quietly into her mother's shoulder.  
"Okay… okay. Look, Valica." Stephanie pulled her wand from her pocket, and flourished it. "See, the flowers won't die now. Mommy sprinkled some magic on them."_

_The young girl stopped crying, and sniffed. "They don't die now?"_

_My mum shook her head, "Nope. They don't die now."_

"_Does everything really die?" The little girl asked after a moment. She—I mean, _I_—was pretty smart for a three year old._

_My mum hesitated, trying to decide how to answer. Finally she nodded.  
The little girl began sobbing again. "I don't want to die."_

_My mum rocked me back and forth, trying to calm me. "Oh Val, don't cry. You don't need to worry about anyone dying. I'm here, and I'm not going to let anything happen to you."_

"_Mummy, don't die." The three year old sobbed hysterically. _

"_I'm not going anywhere anytime soon, love. Now hush, love, stop crying." _

_My mum sat down on the couch and kissed the toddler's hair. "Shh."  
After a moment she started singing a lullaby that had become familiar to me because of the dreams.  
__**"**__Hush-a-Bye  
Dont You Cry  
Go To Sleep My Little Baby  
When You Wake You Shall Have  
All The Pretty Little Ponies_

_In Your Bed  
Mamma Said  
Babies Riding Off To Dream Land  
One By One  
They've Begun  
Dance And Prance For Little Baby"_

_A young me slowly began to calm down from my hysterics. My mum continued to stroke my hair and hum the tune, and finally, I fell silent._

"_How about we skip dinner, tonight, and I fix us some big bowls of ice cream."  
The toddler smiled and jumped up and down. _

_My mum walked into the kitchen. I heard the freezer door open and close, silence—and then the crashing of glass._

"_Mum?" The little girl called. _

_Stephanie Quem came rushing into the room, and I watched as she scooped the toddler-me up and hurried me back to the bedrooms._

_She turned into the first door to the left—my room.  
"Valica, honey, let's play a game."_

"_What kind of game?"_

"_Hide and seek! You hide under the bed, and I'll come get you in a little bit."_

"_I don't want to play this game, Mum. I want ice-cream!"_

"_Oh Valica!" My mum sobbed, before dropping to her knees and settled down. "Please, just hide. I'll come back and get you in a minute, and we'll eat ice-cream until we're sick. Just, please for now, hide and play this game with me."_

"_Okay mum." The little girl said, nodding. "If you really want to."_

"_Good girl." She hugged the girl tightly her and the girl hugged her back. She pulled away quickly, kissed the girl on both cheeks. "Okay, stay very quiet, and get under the bed." _

_The girl wiped tears from her mum's eyes, and my mum laid her down and pushed her under the bed. I knew the girl wouldn't leave that position for hours._

_As my mum left the room, I followed her. I stood next to her for the next few moments as things around us exploded. I guess, that was because I didn't know what originally happened during those few moments, except that I heard explosions from under the bed._

_Finally came the climax of all my dreams.  
The explosions ceased and my mom spoke the familiar words, "Oh Merlin! Thank goodness your here."  
A cloaked figure stepped in the doorway. As usual I couldn't recognize his face._

_My mum was still talking. "I seen them coming from the window but I didn't think you'd get my patronus in... time. Wait, what are you-?"  
The cloaked figure took out his wand, and pointed it at her. She screamed.  
"N-no! How could you? I trusted you!"  
He hit her with a spell and she screamed, and finally he flourished his wand one last time, and my mother slumped to the floor, dead._

_I was relieved, considering this meant the dream was almost over. Now the cloaked figure would turn to me, and let down his hood, and right as I would almost see his face, I would wake up._

_It started off exactly like that.  
The hooded figure turned towards me, and aimed his wand at my heart. With his other hand, he pushed back the hood.  
The dream should have ended there.  
It _always_ ended there._

_My mom let out a moan, and I turned in shock to look at her. She still looked dead… meaning, her eyes were still unseeing, and she wasn't moving. But then suddenly, before my eyes, she turned to ash. _

_I screamed, and then some arose from the ashes. A fully groan phoenix emerged and flew towards the open down._

_I looked back at the unmasked figure and I met cold grey eyes, platinum blonde hair, and a pale face._

"_Wingardium Leviosa!" Draco Malfoy hissed._

* * *

Unknown to Valica Quem, a certain Boy-Who-Lived sat up in bed at the exact same time. Harry Potter clutched his scar in pain, while miles away Valica's eyes flew open and she muffled her scream into her pillow.

* * *

**Author's Note: :) Sequel Prolouge. More coming later this week, probably the weekend.**


	2. The Orphanage

Luckily my head was buried in my pillow, so that scream was muffled.

My eyes were open, but images were flashing in my mind at a hundred miles an hour.  
Me climbing out from under the bed when I was three, finding my mother—her pale, cold skin, unseeing eyes, and mouth open in a cut-off scream.  
An image of Peter Pettigrew flashed in my mind, and then dementors popped up.  
The image of the dementors then turned into my memory of the changing boggart I had encountered a few months ago. Harry pointing his wand at me, and then Sirius getting his soul sucked out.

Harry. I thought to myself. Just think of Harry.  
That had been my tactic this entire school year. Whenever I woke up from my nightmare, I just thought of Harry, and then my other Hogwarts friends, and then Hogwarts itself.  
I closed my eyes, and focused as hard as I could on my memory of Harry Potter. It didn't take long before his face swam before me; His vibrant green eyes, and naturally messy hair. His wide grin and warm laugh. I took a deep breath, and focused harder. Hermione's face flashed in my mind; her bushy hair, stern brown eyes, and a friendly proud smile. After that came Ron's face, with his flaming red hair, freckles, and dimples.  
If I focused hard enough, I could see another flaming red-head that I would have rather been dreaming about—my former crush for all of last year, George Weasley's face popped in my head.

Finally, I managed to calm myself down enough that I stopped trembling.

I lay back down and looked up at the ceiling, thinking of Hogwarts.

I would be leaving to go back in two weeks. Only two weeks, but what felt like eternity to me.

Two other faces suddenly crept their way into my mind.

The first belonged to the alleged mass murderer, and also my father according to my wizarding birth certificate.  
The last time I had seen Sirius Black, he looked nothing like the man in the photo in my dream. Not only was he obviously older, but twelve years in Azkaban had made him scrawny and gaunt. His cheekbones had been sunk in, and his eyes had thick black lines underneath them.  
If that face would have appeared in any other thirteen(No fourteen! My birthday was eleven days ago!)year old girl's mind, they would have screamed. But his face made me smile. I had never even talked one on one to him before, but he had sent me a letter and some vials of memories a few months ago and… well it made an impression. I regretted not spending time with him, and hoped that one day I would be able to. In two weeks, once I got out of here, I may be able to even write him!  
The second face belonged to none other than Remus Lupin—my former Defense Against the Dark Arts Professor, a werewolf, and my biological father as of a few months ago.  
He had light brown hair that would have been the identical color of mine, if it wasn't for the streaks of grey in it. His big green eyes that were flecked with brown and gold, that were exactly the same as mine, were kind and gentle. He had light subtle scars marked on his face, but it didn't mar the gentle look on his face, or the warmth in his smile. He was the kindest man I had ever met, and one of the first adults I had ever felt comfortable around. I was possibly moving in him next year.

These two men… they were my dads, I suppose. I hardly knew either of them, but they were what I had in the parent's category, and their faces brought me even more comfort.

I didn't dare go back to sleep, so I laid awake for an hour or two, torturing myself with images from Hogwarts that literally made my chest hurt from home-sickness.

Eventually the light filtered from under the blinds of the orphanage window. I shared a room with all of the girls in the orphanage that were thirteen years old or older, which meant about ten of them. They all hated me, by the way, with the exception of my fifteen year old friend Phoebe.

I sat up and looked around. All of the girls were still sleeping, and I felt relieved about this. I grabbed my last pair of sweat pants, and a black t-shirt and headed to the bathroom. I had had to be careful these last few months, even going to the girls' bathroom was dangerous. Several times, three or girls had cornered me in a stall demanding why I was the one getting sent to some fancy school for the gifted in Scotland.  
That was my cover story you see. McGonagall, with the Headmaster's permission of course, had came to the orphanage last year and convinced the Director of the Orphanage that I was accepted into a gifted school. She must have used some kind of spell or something, though, because I highly doubt Director O'Ryan would let me go without some kind of magical influence.  
Anyway, once it had slipped out that I was some 'special' kid that had permission to leave the orphanage for nine months… well, my fellow orphanage kids decided that they needed to teach me a lesson.  
They were just jealous, of course, and I couldn't blame them. To leave this orphanage was all of our dream, and that fact that plain Valica Quem got it… well, that was more than likely to tick off some people.

I slipped on my clothes quickly and turned to leave the bathroom. I happened to catch a glance of myself in the mirror though.  
I never checked my reflection, but this time it caught my eye.  
Looking at the girl in the mirror, I wondered what my peers from Hogwarts would think.  
I no longer looked like the innocent school girl they had been used to seeing—the girl that was always dressed in her uniform, and had long wavy hair that fell all the way to her waste. That girl had smiled, and laughed, and joked with the people around her. She had hugged her friends when they did something really sweet, and she had even kissed George Weasley on the lips. She was the girl that gave Draco Malfoy, a Hogwart's bully, a black eye. She was one of Harry Potter's best friends, and also the Gryffindor girl who got along with that Slytherin, Blaise Zabini.  
That girl didn't exist at this place.

The girl looking back out at me in the mirror was a completely different person.  
My low waist sweats were hand-me downs from my friend Phoebe who had those long glamorous legs like the models on the magazines Parvarti and Lavender looked at. This also meant that the sweatpants were too long on me, who was just barely clearing 5' 2 and ½ on a measuring tape. They were also big around my waste. It wasn't like Phoebe was fat, as much as it was the fact that I had lost way too many pounds these past two months. I was scrawny enough to pass for 'unhealthy' even though I wasn't majorly malnourished. I'm pretty sure if Gale ever seen my ribs stick out, he would kill me for not eating more. Anyway, I had to use one of my tennis shoe laces as a belt to make sure the sweats would stay on. I rolled up the bottom of my sweat pants so that they weren't so long.  
My black t-shirt on the other hand was the same black t-shirt I had been wearing since I was eleven or twelve… and before I had developed more in certain areas. The shirt only came to right below my naval, meaning that my lower stomach was exposed and I couldn't hide the shoe-laced sweatpants. The shirt had six or seven small holes no larger than two centimeters but I still was looking pretty rough clothes wise.  
My hair had changed dramatically also. One of the girls I shared a room with, had somehow got her hands on kitchen scissors and decided to give me a haircut in my sleep. Thank goodness, Phoebe has an unnatural but talented knack for haircuts—even with kitchen scissors, and was able to make it into a choppy yet not horrible looking shag haircut. Still, by the time she had evened out the major uneven cuts as best as she could, it barely reached my shoulders. Phoebe had insisted that it was a 'hot-look' on me, and Alek had remarked that I looked kind of sexy. Even Gale had hinted that the look fit me better, but that wasn't the point.  
My arms were covered with healing bruises varying from mistreatment from the teachers and the students. I had a large bruise of my back too, from getting hit in the back with a cement brick by a boy named Jasper Blotts.

No… I definitely wasn't the girl from Hogwarts anymore.

* * *

It was late afternoon. I was sitting down outside, in the small 'backyard' that was the only outside area for the kids of the orphanage. This of course, meant that it was majorly crowded. If I had been at Hogwarts right now, I would have been enjoying this warm day by the lake, under my favorite tree, either reading, or laying my head back, closing my eyes and enjoying myself.

I couldn't do either of those things now though. I didn't have a book to read, as horrid as that sounds. The second option was out because, closing your eyes in the middle of a bunch of older orphanage children that were just now starting to calm down their rage towards me, was like wrapping yourself in bacon and jumping out in the middle of a pack of starving dogs—suicide.

So I just sat there, half on alert, half thinking about Hogwarts.

Someone sat beside me, and I instinctively stiffened. I relaxed almost immediately though, because I realized who it was.  
It was Gale. The one I had gave up the chance of living with Remus over the summer for. The one that I had met when I was four years old, and had immediately became my best friend.  
"That one new?" He asked me, pointing at a fresh bruise on my leg.

I shrugged, "From this morning, on my way to breakfast."

"Who did it?"

"Mathilda McGrove." I responded.

"Did you two get in a fight?" He asked. I nodded. "Who won?"

"The one who is sitting here in the backyard, not clutching her nose pathetically and crying in the girl's bathroom."

"I should have guessed that one." Gale said, and I nodded in agreement.

"Two weeks and you get to go back to your magic school." Gale remarked after a moment.

Yes, he knew about me being a witch, but I wasn't the one who told him! One time, when Professor McGonagall came to tutor me, or 'evaluate' me like she told Director O'Ryan, Gale accidently walked in right as Professor McGonagall transfigured a teacup into a toad.  
She mentioned that there were some memory charms that could be used, but I begged her not to alert anyone, or use any magic on him. If anyone could keep a secret, it was Gale. She finally agreed. Gale had kept his mouth shut about the subject too. Alek and Phoebe were still in the dark about the whole witch thing.

I nodded, before taking a deep breath, "I want to come back next summer… to the orphanage."

Silence hung over us for a second. "Absolutely not." He said after a few moments.

"Gale, it isn't your decision to make! I don't know if I'm ready to move in with Lupin or not… I mean we hardly know each other."

"Valica Phoenix, I've known you for ten years now… you think I can't tell when you're lying?"

I didn't answer. He was right. We could read each other way too well. But I had to at least try that tactic.

Gale sighed, "Valica, you don't get it."

I turned to look at him, my eyes flashing. "What don't I get? How about I tell you what I _do_ get. I get that Alek and Phoebe are leaving in six months. And that if I leave permanently, you'll be here alone for the next two years. And that then I would practically be throwing you to the dogs... covered in bacon."

Gale sighed, "Is it turkey bacon?" He gave me a crooked smile when I glared at him.  
His smile put a small crack in my shield of my anger, but not enough to completely demolish it.

The smile faded quickly, and he took a deep breath, "You can't come back, Valica. I can't let you."

"This is my decision!" I reminded him angrily. "It worked out fine this last time."

"_Fine_? You think it turned out _fine?_ Valica, where have you been these past two months?" He took my arm and gestured to the healing bruises that decorated my arm, making a purplish-blue pattern. There was a long cut running from my elbow to about halfway up my upper arm. The sad thing was that none of these marks were from the students I had been in fights with. A few of the bruises was from a yardstick that Ms. Glechen, my World History teacher, had had handy at the moment. My biology teacher, Mr. Allister, had struck me with a textbook causing one of the larger bruises on my forearm. The cut and a few other bruises had been given to me personally by Mr. O'Ryan, the director of the school.  
I winced slightly as Gale pressed on one of the bruises lightly.

"Valica," he said softly, "This is _not_ fine. And this was just the first time you came back. How long do you think they are going to let you go back, Valica? How long do you think they will put up with this?"

I pulled my arm away. "I'm not the only one who gets bruises, Gale. You can pull up any student in the orphanage's sleeve, and you'll see bruises there too."

He shook his head, "Not like this, Valica. _I_ don't even get punished as much as you do."

I shook my head stubbornly, "I'm tough enough to handle it. You don't have to protect me anymore, Gale. I can handle myself."

"And I can take care of myself!" He argued. "Why do you keep insisting that you come back for _me_?"

"Because I care about you, you stupid idiot. You've always been there for me. You're the only one who has been there with me through it all."

"You care about me?" He asked, narrowing his eyes. I nodded, knowing that he already knew the answer to that question. He leaned in so that his face was only inches from mine. "Then what if it was _me_, Valica? What if _you_ were the one who had to watch _me _hurting all the time? What if _you_ had to watch _me_ cringe every time a teacher calls my name? And if _I_ had a chance to escape from this hell permanently, would _you_ let me pass it up?"

It took me a second to think of an answer. Gale knew exactly how to get to me, and exactly how to make me see his point.  
I cleared my throat so that my next words would come out stronger, but they still came out a bit weak and scratchy, "_You_ wouldn't leave _me_, though. And _I _couldn't make _you_ go."

Gale chuckled without humor, "Are you kidding me? Valica Phoenix Quem... I mean Black... or Lupin? I mean... whatever the hell your last name is. _You_ could make _me_ do anything."

"Yeah, right." I muttered, looking down at the ground so I wouldn't have to meet his eyes. This was _Gale_ we were talking about.

He then did the most touching thing I ever remember him doing. He placed a finger under my chin and lifted it up so that I would have to look him in the eye. "Valica," he said quietly, "You don't realize how strong you are. Not just physically, but in here." He placed his other hand on my forehead and tapped it gently, "You're special, Val. There's something about you that just... gets to people." He paused,  
"What did I tell you the number one rule of survival was here?"

"Never underestimate your opponent."

Gale paused, "No. Don't underestimate anyone... _including_ yourself. Got it?"

I nodded feebly. "I got it."

"And you're going to go to Hogwarts this year?"

I nodded again.

"And you're going to move into your dad's... and not come back here?"

I almost nodded, before hesitating. "I'll consider it." I told him firmly.

He rolled his eyes and dropped his hand. "Valica," he groaned. "I'm going to be eighteen in a year and a half. By the time Phoebe and Alek leave, I'll only have about a year left. I've been here for eleven years… I think I can handle a year on my own. Nobody messes with me anyway. I have reputation like that."

I paused. That was true. He had been here longer than any kid at the orphanage, even though he only beat me by a year and a half. Still, he knew all the basic no's and yes's of the orphanage. And he was probably the best fighter out of the orphanages kids. He was pretty good at taking care of himself.

"Are you absolutely positive?" I asked, looking closely at him.

He shot me a smile, and nodded. I sighed, "Fine. I'll move in with my dad."

He grinned and did something extremely shocking. He reached over and gave me a quick one armed hug.

If you thought I was bad about giving hugs, then you had clearly never met Gale. I had known him for four years now, and I had only received two hugs from him… ever. Both of them were from this last year—when I left for Hogwarts, and when I seen him at the train station two months ago.

Our touching moment was interrupted by a familiar voice, "Alek, stop! Just let it go!"

Gale and I stood up, and pushed our way to the sound of Phoebe's voice. Finally we found the source of all the commotion. There were a group of kids all crowded around two boys—Jasper Blotts and Alek Trevino.

Here's the thing you have to understand about Alek. He and Phoebe are the only siblings at the orphanage, and he is extremely protective of her. He's usually the laid back, stay-out-of-fights type that is kind of the peace maker of our four people group. But when someone messed with his sister… that was it. He was pretty well muscled, and stocky, and he wasn't really someone you wanted to mess with.  
The other kid—Jasper, was a flat out trouble maker. He was favored by all the teachers because he was a suck-up and got good grades, and the basic stuff. He was feared by most of the students for this reason. If you got in a fight with a teacher's pet, they would automatically take their side, and you would receive the punishment. And punishments here at the orphanage, were not a lovely experience.  
If I had to have an enemy here, it was Jasper. He was the type that constantly flirted with girls, and used him position with the teachers to get what he wanted. We had gotten in a number of fights, and I beat him every time, and took the beating proudly from the teachers.

I could already tell from look on Alek's face, what had happened.

I'm guessing Jasper had tried Phoebe, and reacted bad to her rejection. Alek of course, had jumped in like a good older brother. Jasper and Alek were in each other's faces, sizing one another up. Phoebe was trying to grab Alek's arm, but he wasn't budging.

"You take care of Phoebe?" Gale asked me, and I nodded.

I shoved through the circle of students surrounding the two of them, until I finally reached Phoebe. I tugged her arm, and she looked at me.

"Come on, Gale's going to take care of it."  
She hesitated, before nodding, and joining me at the edge of the crowd.

Gale had made his way to the center also, and grabbed Alek. He said something to him, although I couldn't hear what it was. Alek shook his head 'no', but Gale just nodded and pushed him back.  
Alek may have been a year older than Gale, but Gale was bigger.

"Back off." He growled.

"Oh come on, Gale. Let your friend have some fun!" Jasper cooed. Gale ignored him, and walked over to me.

"Time to go inside." Gale said, and I nodded. He turned to Jasper. "Listen to me, you've got every teacher around here wrapped around your finger. That's not going to stop me from beating you to a pulp. You keep your hands off of Phoebe, got it?"

"Oh come on now, I'm just trying to have some fun." Jasper sneered. "Why can't you share? You get both Valica and Phoebe all to yourself… I'm just a bit jealous."

Gale rolled his eyes, but didn't lose his temper like I would have. "Just keep your hands off of her."

"What about Valica, can I have her?" Jasper asked.

Gale laughed coldly and with humor. "I would like to see you put your hands on Valica… she'd kick your ass before you say 'Director'."

"What's going on out here?" Someone asked. We turned to see Mr. Allister coming out into the backyard.

"Time to go inside." Gale repeated, and the three of us followed him inside.

* * *

**A/U- TWO IN ONE DAY :D So yeah, thanks to Mizz Alec Volturi and ChaserVine7928 for the reviews!**

** So your finally introduced to Valica's three friends. What do you think about Gale? O.o  
Any predictions on what's to come?**

**~Nic**


	3. To Go Home

The next day was dreary. My dream was the same as yesterday's except for the image of my mother lying on the ground dead, shaped to Gale. Then—similar to yesterday's—Gale groaned softly before turning to ash, with a phoenix rising from them. Unfortunately, I wasn't as quiet as yesterday when I woke up.  
When I opened my eyes, I met three other's. I thankfully didn't let my terror show by screaming like I wanted to.

The three eyes belonged to the three people I least wanted to see. Three girls—Mathilda, Clarence, and Joanne—who I had shared a room with for the last few years all glared at me.

"Did 'ittle Valica have a nightmare?" Mathilda cooed, shoving me roughly. I managed not to fall flat on my face, and I was out of bed in a matter of seconds.  
"Bet your missing that new school of yours?" Clarence asked, smirking tauntingly. She was large and stocky, reminding me a lot of a female Crabbe or Goyle.  
"Yeah, that school for _freaks_." Joanne added on. She was short and puny, with greasy black hair that was all too much like a certain cousin's of mine. She had been the one to trim off my hair in my sleep.

"Oh you should have heard yourself, _Quem_. 'No mommy, don't die'." Clarence sneered from across my bed.  
"It's too late, Quem. See, your mom is dead already. Probably killed herself to get away from a _freak_ like you." Joanne sneered.

I knew that Joanne's words weren't true. But it was enough to make me want to rip out her tongue.

I smiled sweetly at Joanne, "And what happened to your mom, huh? Did she die too? Or did she just get sick of you and send you away."  
It was mean, I'll admit it. I had lost respect for her a while ago, but I normally didn't play the 'parent card'. It was low and downright… hateful.

Joanne narrowed her eyes, "I think you need to be taught a lesson."

"And I think you need to be taught a few manners. I'll be happy to show them to you." I growled quietly, my fists already clenched.

"Back off girls." Joanne said quietly. "She's mine." She made her way around the bed, so that she was able to get in my face. "Manners, huh?" She growled at me, sounding like a retarded Chihuahua.

"Yup." I said, popping the _p_ in Yu_p. _"For example, the first lesson in manners is not to wake someone up by hovering over them." I said, and as I did I swung my right fist. She made to duck, but she hadn't been expecting me for my leg to come out and kick her in the shin. She grunted, and reared back a fist, but was interrupted mid-swing by the heel of my hand crushing into her nose. Her nose began gushing, but the sight of blood on my hand didn't bother me. She stumbled backwards and fell onto the floor.  
"Manners number dos do _not _cut someone's hair while they are sleeping. It just shows how pathetic and weak you are; because you didn't want to face me when I was awake."  
Mathilda decided now to jump in, and I expected Clarence to join her, but the girl was nowhere to be seen. I didn't have a lot of time to worry about it, because Mathilda swung her fists like a madman.  
"Must I beat you up again?" I asked, rolling my eyes. I was referring to just yesterday morning when the girl had attacked me. I had left her much like Joanne was now—on the floor, clenching a bloody nose.  
She ignored me, and swung her fist again. I blocked it easy. "Guess so." I grunted. I chose the easy approach as I just shoved her backwards. She wasn't expecting it. Somehow she managed to keep her footing though, which _I _hadn't been expecting. This time her fist did succeed in knocking me in my temple. I saw stars for a brief moment, but regained my senses soon. Now, I was mad. I almost growled as I straightened and threw my fist at her. She blocked my first punch, but the second hit her right in the jaw. She fell down, but stood up quickly. The blood was pounding in my ears as I let myself transfer my anger into my fists, almost like when I channeled my emotions into my magic. Soon she was back on the ground, his jaw bruise, nose bleeding(again), and clutching her stomach where I had nailed her with my knee.

"Ever step within fist's reach of my again, and there will be a lot more bleeding then your noses." I said to the two girl's.

"Is that so?" I reeled around to see none other than Mr. Allister, his eyes widened and a stomach churning expression of anger painted on his face. Clarence looked out from behind him smiling sickeningly.

* * *

I mentally considered all forms of torture I could inflict on these three girls in a matter of two weeks.  
I wished, for the billionth time, I was able to perform magic here, because there was no doubt that I would punish them with any hex that came to mind.

"What is going on here, Miss. McGrove?" Mr. Allister asked, turning to the bleeding girl on the floor. Of course he would ask her. She, like Jasper, was a teacher's pet, meaning either way I was screwed.

"We were asking Valica if she was okay, sir. She was talking and moaning in her sleep about her mother… so we woke her up and she just… attacked us."

Mr. Allister rose his eyebrows and turned to look at me. "Is this true?"

"Of course not!" I exclaimed, "What _really _happened was-"

"Did these three girls wake you up to ask you about your dream?" He asked me.

"If you want to get technical, but-"

"And did you attack them?" He asked, glaring. He knew the answer considering he had just caught me threatening the only two girls in the room at the moment. He just wanted to make me say.

"Only after-" I started.

"Did you or did you not attack them?" He yelled, causing me to almost cringe. Almost. Like I was going to let him see how much he scared me.

"Yes." I admitted, defeated. I had known as soon as I seen him that it would come to this conclusion—I was the one wrong.

"Come with me." He growled. I shared a glare with each girl, before following him out.

"I'm getting really sick of your attitude, Quem." He snarled as we reached the stairs.

_I'm getting really sick of your biased behavior, Allister. _I thought inside my head.  
Outside, I kept my mouth shut.

He grabbed me roughly by the arm and shook me hard. His grip was enough to leave a fresh bruises. My neck hurt from the jerking motion. "You answer me when I say something to you, got it?"

I nodded, only to be shaken again.  
"You'll say 'yes sir'!"

"Yes sir." I growled. I waited for him to shake me again, but it didn't come. Instead he repeated his earlier statement, "I'm sick of your attitude." I didn't care. "I don't know if that school you go to let's you get away with it, but it will not be tolerated here, especially not by me. Do you understand me?"  
"Yes sir."  
Still wasn't caring that much, but a familiar aching was found in my chest as I thought of Hogwarts…again.  
"I don't know why that school would take you anyway. There are such better choices than a spoiled brat who doesn't respect her superiors." He continued. I almost snorted at his statement, and thought to myself 'Like Mathilda?'  
I humored myself for a brief moment, as I imagined her at Hogwarts. She would have probably tried to suck up to the teachers, but all of them(except maybe Snape, depending on what house she was in) would simply blow her off. I could see her being friends with Pansy Parkinson, and maybe even dating Draco Malfoy.  
I had to fight to keep my face straight as I imagined her hanging all over Malfoy like another Parkinson. I might even pity him.

I got an ache in my chest as I imagined another Slytherin.  
_Blaise_.  
Just the thought of him made my heart hurt, almost as much as it did when I thought about the trio.  
My best friend, and maybe my most loyal friend. A friend that had taken almost a full year's worth of bullying because of me. He didn't ever complain either. He just took it, with a cocky grin on his face or an irritating smirk plastered. His face, covered with bruises, swam before my eyes.  
I had never really appreciated him as much as I had these past two months. Being bullied by the others around me, I had truly realized what he must have gone through. I don't believe the bruises had ever been as severe as I had, but still… the thought that he had to face _this_ made me want to throw up.  
And if he was still as persistent as being my friend as he had been (and I was pretty sure he still would be) then he would have to face it again.

My thoughts were interrupted something hard hit me across my face and I felt myself flail to the ground.

"You want to ignore me again?" He growled. I shook my head.

"Sorry, sir." I muttered as I lifted myself off the ground. The right side of my face stung sharply, and I thought I tasted a metallic taste in my mouth that seemed a bit familiar. He grabbed my collar and raised his hand like he was going to hit me again, but a voice stopped him.

"Allister!" Someone called. I turned to see Miss. Ewell, an office lady that I had saw only on the occasions when I was called into Mr. O'Ryan's office for a punishment. She sat at the desk in front of his office, and knew every student by name. She looked like a regular secretary to me. She was tall and thin, with a long nose that narrow-framed glasses rested on. Her blonde hair was always pulled back in a bun, and she had one of the monotone voices that made you want to fall asleep.

She eyed me carefully, her eyes resting on the side of my face that Mr. Allister had struck me on. It stung and ached all at once and reaching up to feel the side of my mouth, I felt a sticky substance that I identified even before seeing the red on my hand when I removed it.

"Miss. Smith, may I help you?" Allister said, completely calm like he hadn't just struck me across my face. She beckoned him to her, and they discussed and quiet tones for a few moments.  
I didn't mistake the look of disbelief on his face that was quickly replaced with anger. He shook his head, and argued quietly, before frowning and snatching something from his hands. He turned around, and from the look of anger on his face, I realized that I had never quite felt the blunt of Allister's rage. He looked at me as if he would love to beat me right there, but he didn't. He threw something at me, but it wasn't hard or sharp. It was… cloth?

"Wipe your face!" He demanded. I did what I was told, forcing myself not to wince at the pain when touching my face.

"Miss. Quem, you do realize what would happen if you ever told anyone about the… methods of this orphanage, do you not?"

I nodded as quickly as I could; my neck stiff from where he had shook me earlier.  
"Good." He replied.

He took the cloth from my hands, and threw it in the nearest trashcan. "You got these bruises from the fights you've been in." He said gesturing to my arms. "You received that in the fight you got in with Mathilda this morning." He pointed to the side of my face where he had hit me.

I blinked, confused, and opened my mouth to speak, but the look on his face silenced me.

"You got those from the many fights you've been in this summer, am I understood?" He said slowly and deliberately.

I nodded, "Yes sir."

I didn't dare ask what was going on, but instead just scrambled to meet his pace as we headed in the opposite direction of his office. I knew what was in this direction.  
"Mr. O'Ryan's office." I choked out loud. I got chills down my spine just thinking about that dreadful place.

Allister entered the room ahead of me, blocking my view from what was inside.

"Ah, Allister…" I heard the falsely kind voice of the director. "What brings you here?"

"Miss. Smith met me halfway, I was just about to bring Miss. Valica here to you to speak about her behavioral problems, it seems she has gotten into once again, _another_ fight."

"Yes, you see that does seem to be one of her problems…" I could tell from the change in tone, that he was talking to someone else in the room. "Has an extremely bad temper."

"Where is she?" A firm female voice asked. Allister was blocking her from view, but I knew that voice. My breathe caught, and I prayed that this wasn't just another dream. That voice was too good to be true this early in the month. I wasn't supposed to hear it for two more weeks, and I was trying to convince my already hopeful mind that I was just trying to delude myself.  
But when Mr. Allister moved out of my line of vision, my hazel eyes met the firm, serious yet somehow kind brown eyes of Minerva McGonagall.

* * *

I am really not joking when I say that I pinched myself, at the sight of her. But then my eyes roamed over to the man beside her, and my heart got caught in my throat. Remus Lupin—known werewolf in the Wizarding industry, loved Defense Against the Dark Arts teacher by most Hogwarts students that attended my third year, and most importantly, my biological father.  
I closed my eyes tight, before opening them again. He was still there.  
Physically, he looked the same as I remembered him.  
His facial expression though, held more anger than I had ever witnessed from him—even more than when Snape had threatened to send him and Sirius Black to Azkaban, even though both were completely innocent.  
His face visually relaxed at the sight of me, before hardening again—most likely at the sight of my bruises.  
"Professor McGonagall?" I croaked, "Professor Lupin… I mean Moony."  
"Hello Valica." McGonagall said calmly and composed, though I sensed a familiar hardness in her eyes that she got when she was angry.  
Lupin opened his mouth, before closing it, and squeezing his eyes shut, much like I had just done to make sure he was there. "Valica." He voice shook when he said my name, and I heard several emotions play through his voice- Anger, pain, relief. He turned back to Mr. O'Ryan, and with his voice hard and struggling to be composed, said something that shook me to the core. "I've shown proof of identity, shown you the proper files and signed all of your damn papers. I'm taking my daughter home _now_."

My mouth dropped open, but I snapped it closed.  
"Let's step outside for a few moments, Valica." McGonagall told me. I nodded and lead the way outside the office, vaguely aware of Mr. Allister following us.

Mr. Allister closed the door behind the three of us. McGonagall ignored him and looked me directly in the eyes. "Valica, where did you receive your bruises?"

I could almost feel Allister's eyes on me.  
"Fights with other students, ma'am." I said quietly.

"And the large bruise on the side of your face?"

"I got in a fight this morning, Professor. One of the girls made fun of my mother's death, so I decided to knock some sense into her and her friends. I might have knocked something _out_ of her, though, if Mr. Allister hadn't come in and interrupted me."  
I told myself I wasn't lying. I had accounted exactly what had happened this morning, and her assuming I was answering her previous question was her own self.

"Are you positive?" She asked me, narrowing her eyes and scrutinizing me.

"Yes ma'am. That's what happened." I responded. I was a good liar, but McGonagall was a good people-reader too. I doubted she believed my story.

"Valica!" Someone yelled. I turned to see Gale and Alek hurrying down the hall.

Gale was the first to reach me, and he eyed my face carefully. I noticed that once Alek joined us, Gale moved to clearly put me out of Allister's line of fire. His tall and stocky figure completely removed Allister from my line of sight.

Alek explained that Phoebe had gone upstairs to hear Mathilda and her friends talking about what happened.

"Hello, Gale, Alek." McGonagall said formally.

"Miss. McGonagall." Alek responded, smiling respectively. He stuck out his hand to shake hands with her, which she accepted.  
Gale, who had lost his trust for adults just nodded. He didn't dislike McGonagall as much as the others, and he may have even had a grudging respect for her, considering her firm yet non-abusive attitude, and the fact that in his eyes, she had 'rescued me from the hellhole'.  
Despite this though, I knew Gale well enough to know that he didn't shake hands, or _show_ any adults that he liked them. That was simply out of the question to him.

"Are you alright?" Gale looked back at me.

I paused, before responding, "My father's here… he's… we're leaving. I'm leaving. Gale, I'm-" My voice rose as the end, and he placed his hand over my mouth.  
"Good." He said quietly. That was all he had to say. He removed his hand from my mouth, but his eyes didn't leave my face for a moment. I switched my gaze to Alek, who was watching me too. He gave me a small smile, which I wish I could have returned.

"Valica, dear, you may want to go get your trunk." McGonagall spoke up. She had been surveying the scene before her, and now decided to rescue me from my awkwardness.  
I nodded slowly, and moved forward, Alek and Gale moved too, but McGonagall held a hand out. "Actually, Gale, could I speak to you for a moment?"

He met my eyes, before turning back to McGonagall.  
"I'm good, Gale." I spoke up. He turned back to look at me and I nodded.

Sighing, he shrugged and nodded at McGonagall.

Alek accompanied me back to my dorms, where he waited outside the girls' door. Walking in, I was relieved to find it empty, and instead of packing, I fell onto the bed, and squeezed my eyes shut.

What was going on?  
I should have been ecstatic to be leaving the orphanage two weeks early. I was going to get to spend some time with my dad, outside of his office! I could write letters to Sirius, Harry, Hermione, and Ron.  
My dad's words echoed in my head, 'I'm taking mydaughter home now.'  
He called me his daughter. He was taking me 'home'.  
The closest I had ever come to having a home was Hogwarts. But this was different. This was a place to come back to over breaks. This was somewhere I could always come back too.  
This was a dream that I had never let myself hope for. This is what almost any child in the orphanage would kill for.

But, on the other hand; I was leaving more than just the orphanage. I was leaving Gale, Alek, and Phoebe. I was leaving the place I had spent the last ten years of my life. I had learned everything I knew now here—maybe most of it wasn't good, but it was me. This orphanage was what had made me who I was.

Some sat beside me on the bed and I jumped, and almost fell off. I turned to see Alek, looking down at me.

I sighed and sat up, looking at the scratchy white sheet that lay on my bed, still messy from my tossing and turning last night.

"It's scary, isn't it?" He said, as if reading my mind.

I didn't answer, but he took this as a yes.

"I know what to do here." He said quietly. "I know that it's best to keep quiet and keep to yourself and your friends. I know that if someone runs their mouth a little too much, that you can bust them in the jaw, and they'll shut up. It doesn't work that way in the real world though… and out there I'm as ignorant as a child. And not only do I have to take care of myself, but I've got to take care of my little sister."

"Your sister knows more about the real world than you give her credit for." I said, quietly.

He smiled, "Yeah, but it's going to be hard. I have to find a job, and a place for us to live. And Gale made a point yesterday when he told me that I can't fight every person in the real world that has a go at Phoebe. I've got to learn that I'm not always going to have Gale to stop me before I do something too stupid. And I've to get used to not holding back a little girl with major attitude issues that I've come to love just as much as I love my little sister." He smiled and elbowed me at the last part, and even I couldn't help but smile at the last part.  
"But it's worth it." He said quietly. "I mean, I'll learn these things eventually, and I'll be able to sleep at night not worrying about Phoebe. Just like you'll learn how to fit in. You'll learn how not to throw fists at every person that makes angry. You'll be happier."

"But what about Gale?" I asked, shaking my head. "He's going to be taking the blunt of this place alone."

"But Valica, he's right. When you return next summer… it's going to be even worse than it was this year. And Gale would try to protect you from that as much he could, and get himself hurt even worse. You're his best friend, Valica, and he'll be as happy to know that you're safe at night, as I am with Phoebe."

His words lifted my spirits more than anything and looking at him, I truly appreciated him.

He smiled, and ruffled my short hair. "You really are one of kind, Val. You'll be fine. Gale will be fine. Phoebes and I will be fine. Just stop worrying about everyone else, and for once in your life, be a bit selfish."

I laughed, and nodded, "Thanks, Alek."

"Anytime, sweets. Now get your stuff together before someone comes in and catches me in the girls' dorms."

I smirked and shook my head, before jumping off the bed and opening my trunk to pile the clothes that were around my bed. Unknown to Alek, my trunk had a lower compartment where my wizarding supplies rested untouched for months. My larger supplies, like my cauldron, and my owl Buddha had stayed with McGonagall over the summer.

Finally, I pulled my Pandora's box from underneath my box. Within it was the most important symbols of my life, and some seemingly pointless ones—drawings of my three orphanage friends, the photo album I had received from my cousin and Potions' teacher, Snape. A lock of my hair from my first haircut. A lion necklace that I had received from Blaise Zabini last year, but I hadn't dare worn it considering it would be stole right from underneath my nose. And then I had my letter from Sirius, which I had read at least once a week for the last two months, just to remind myself that he was out there. Three small vials of memories, and finally—the broken pieces of my first ever wand.

I looked down at the box, and smiled, before putting it in my trunk.

"Where are we going to meet at?" Alek asked as he watched me.

"What do you mean?" I asked, as I dug through my trunk to produce a pair of crinkled jeans.

"Well, I get out of the orphanage in two months, which by then you'll be back in school. So next summer, I figured the three of us should meet up somewhere…"

I nodded agreeing, and but before I could reply, the door banged open. I spun around, fists ready, but relaxed slightly at the sight of Phoebe.  
Her eyes looked a little watery, but she was holding herself together better than I thought she would, considering I was pretty sure she was now aware of my leaving the orphanage.

She hesitated before hugging me lightly… she knew how I was about being hugged and coddled. She stood back and looked me up and down.  
"You have blood all over your face and hair. Go wash… now. I'll finish packing for you."

I blinked, processing what she said, but she was already pushing me towards the bathroom. She then threw a plain black shirt and jeans at me. I sighed as she closed the door… wow this was disorienting.

* * *

My shower lasted less than five minutes, but when I emerged I looked almost like a new person. Yes, I was still pale and puny, but at least I was clean, and pale and puny. I ran my fingers through my short hair, before slipping into my clean pair of jeans and t-shirt. This t-shirt was one of my nicer ones that I saved for Hogwarts. By 'nice', I mean it actually covered my stomach, and there was only one hole, which was in the shoulder.  
The black shirt did my coloring no favors, and brought out my sickly pale look even more than before, and also drew attention to the bruised, and black lines under my eyes that resulted from lack of sleep, stress, and the orphanage itself.

I almost laughed, because despite the fact that I had the hair, eyes, and most other physical features of my biological father, right now, I was pretty sure I looked more like my other one at the moment.

I exited the bathroom, just as Phoebe snapped my trunk closed. Alek was gone, and I knew he had been grateful for Phoebe's appearance given he must have hated being in the girl's dorm.

"You look better." Phoebe said, smiling small at me. I did my best to smile back, but it was harder than I thought it would be.  
Her smile broke slightly, and I was horrified at the sight of tears welling up in her eyes.

"Don't you dare cry!" I demanded, my voice a bit shaky. "Because if you do, I might not be able to leave…"

A small tear leaked out the side of her eye and down her cheek, but she quickly wiped it away. "They're tears of happiness, considering I never thought I would ever see you without you covered in blood. I laughed and shook my head at her.  
And then hesitantly I hugged her. "Thank you." I said quietly. She may have only been a year older than me, but she had been the only girl I had ever had in my life before I went to Hogwarts last year. She was naïve, and too kind for her own good, but she was my first girl friend. She had given me my first haircut, and my first book, and had gave me hope that maybe there was goodness outside of the orphanage.

She seemed to understand though, and she just nodded and hugged me back so tight that it almost hurt, but I didn't care.

"Okay, break it up." A dry and low voice said from the door. I turned to see Gale leaning against the side of the doorway, with Alek flanking him.  
"Your dad is waiting." He told me firmly. He nodded for Alek to grab one side of my trunk and he took the other. Together they lifted it and carried it out of the room. I grabbed my Pandora's book from the bed, and followed Phoebe out of the room; only glancing back to say goodbye to a room I hoped I would never have to see again.

The first thing I noticed when I returned back to Director O'Ryan's office was that Allister was gone.  
The second was that my dad looked much less angrier, and more anxious.

"Hey Moony." I said, doing my best to smile at him.

He smiled back, and I could tell he wanted to hug me, but he restrained from doing so. "Hello Valica." He said quietly, "Sorry for being here two weeks earlier than planned, but something came up."

"It's fine." I said, smiling.

It was when we were outside the orphanage and my trunk had been loaded into the muggle car m dad must have rented that I felt like I wanted to be sick. No one can imagine how hard it is saying goodbye to friends that haven't practically been to hell with you. The only thing harder is knowing that you're leaving them in hell.

Alek hugged me lightly, as if he knew how close I was to my breaking point. He was the most emphatic person I knew.  
I allowed Phoebe to hug me again, and she wiped her cheeks of the tears streaming down her face.

Then there was Gale who I knew was forcing himself to keep calm and let me go off with two adults. He took a deep breath, and before I knew it, he was hugging me. It was awkward, like all of Gale's hugs had been, considering he had only done it like three times. He then shocked me even more by kissing my forehead. Just as quickly as he had done it, he was out of arm's reach again. "Take care of yourself. Remember the rules. Don't be stupid."

Those three sentences were his only advice to me, and he turned to Remus. And my sixteen and a half best friend looked at Remus like he was his age, and said, "Take care of her. She's something special." He didn't wait for a response. If he told you to do something, he expected you to do it. In his eyes, I suppose, Remus was no different.

"I'll see you guys." I said, quietly. And with that, I climbed into the backseat of the car, while Remus got in the driver seat, and McGonagall in the passenger seat.

Remus looked at me from his review mirror, "Ready to go home?"


	4. Buttons, and a Wand

_Blaise's POV_

Blaise frowned as he fingered the collar of his white button up shirt. He was looking at himself in the full body mirror that was placed at the end of the hall. He felt as if the collar was choking him, and finally he couldn't resist unbuttoning the first few buttons. His mother would, without a doubt, make him button them up again, as soon as she noticed them, but for now it was a relief. Of lately, anything around his neck made him claustrophobic.

"Blaise, it's time to leave!"

"Arianna, the gala does not start for another hour or two." The voice of Darius Suez, his mother's latest husband, filled the house.

"Yes, love, I'm _aware_." Arianna Zabini's impatient tone answered back. "But it's late to be on time. And the Malfoys' have just returned from their trip to Switzerland, and I wish to see Narcissa."

"Alright, love." Darius answered.  
"Blaise Julius Zabini, it is time to go!"

"I heard you the first time." Blaise muttered. He grabbed his solid black robe from the bed and slipped it on. He then made his way to the stairs, taking his time, just to annoy his mother. Finally, he reached the bottom, where his mother was waiting impatiently.  
"Button your shirt, dear." She snapped.

Blaise moved to button his shirt up, but then realized that his mother wasn't talking to him. Darius rolled his eyes, and Blaise resisted the urge to laugh, as he reached into a nearby vase and withdrew a green powder which he threw into the fireplace beside it. Green flames rose, beckoning him, and before his mother could notice his slightly unbuttoned shirt, he leapt in the flames.  
"Malfoy Manor." He said tightly.

The green flames were like a gentle breeze as they brushed against his skin. He took these few moments to reconstruct his cool careless façade.  
He had been able to avoid the three other galas that were held this summer, with the excuse that he was ill or that he took a sudden unplanned trip to his grandparent's home in Scotland.  
He hadn't been able to avoid this one though. This gala was being hosted by the Malfoy family, and they always threw the grandest of galas and banquets. The Minister of Magic himself would be there, along with several professional quidditch players, actors, and other people of high titles. His mother had denied his excuses and told him that he had to go.

He knew why she wanted him to go so badly.  
The younger generations that had attended Hogwarts with him, had of course turned and reported his 'blood traitor' attitude of last year, to their parents. Those parents had turned and told their friends, and they had told their friends… and so on. When it reached his mother at the end of his school year, that her son was friends with a Gryffindor girl that was not only raised in the muggle world, but was also involved in Harry Potter's personal clique… well she had not taken it very well.  
So everything this summer had been primarily focused on regaining reputation. His mother had even taken the time to try and reteach the importance of blood purity and superiority. He had to dress professionally and perfectly, with not a hair out of place. She had even forced him to have his hair cut short… much to his extreme displeasure. He didn't see the point of it of course. Whether he was in dress robes and had short hair, or if he was in plain casual robes with dreads… he was still better looking then anyone in his year or house.

But that wasn't important. Impression was everything to his mother, and he had better make a good one at this gala.

But what was a good impression to him anymore?  
He could keep quiet and isolated as usually did—staying away from anyone and everyone. That was where he was usually content. By isolating himself, he was able to avoid the lies and scowls of those around him. He was his best when he wasn't seen.  
Or he could hold his head high, and plaster his Slytherin smirk to his face. He could go around and take all of his fellow purebloods by surprise, by shaking their hands and greeting them like nothing had changed.

Either way, this gala was going to be absolute hell.  
Not because of the looks or gossip circulating around him, he had gotten used to those.  
A little of the reason would because of the people there, who were the stereotypical Slytherins, or just plain idiots.  
But he had been dealing with them his entire life.  
The main reason it would be so horrible was because he would be mainly dealing with these idiots alone. Usually at the galas, he had his best friend next to him and they would make fun of the Slytherin girls' latest attempts at fashion, or how clueless Vincent Crabbe and Gregory Goyle were.  
Yes, call him sentimental or weak or whatever, but he _missed_ Draco Malfoy—though he would never admit it to anyone. They had been companions since he could remember and they had always entertained each other at these boring get-togethers.  
A small part of him even wished that he hadn't ever discovered the truth about muggle-borns and the lack of pure-blood superiority. Then everything would be back to normal. He would have his best friend back, and his mother would go back to ignoring him. He wouldn't have had to start learning how to defend himself not only with his wand, but also with his fists.  
The larger part didn't regret it though. He didn't ever like being in the dark, or being ignorant about anything. And Valica was worth it too. A school year without Valica sounded even worse than this gala. Even though he missed Draco, he would miss Valica more. He had tried to avoid thinking about her this summer because thinking about her made him miss her more.  
And learning to defend himself wasn't a bad thing… especially now that he had grown three or four inches this summer and had managed to build muscle to accommodate for his growth spurt.

As the fire stooped whooshing around him and the spinning came to a stop, he stepped out of the fireplace ignoring his slight dizziness.

"May I take your robe until the gala starts, sir?" A squeaky voice asked. Zabini looked down at the small house-elf that was bowing in front of him. As it looked up at him though, it's eyes got rather large. "Oh… Mr. Zabini! I hardly recognize you. You got taller sir, and more big. Your hair is cut too!"

That's when Blaise recognized the female house-elf as Tilly, who had worked for the Malfoys for as long as he can remember. "Yeah, Tilly. I guess I've reached puberty." He muttered, slipping the black robe off and handing it to the small house elf. She bowed again before leaving him to himself.

"Blaise." A cool, yet familiar voice said. He turned to see Narcissa Malfoy, dressed in black dress robe that brought out her pale skin and platinum hair.  
Narcissa had been as close to a mother as he had ever had. She wasn't warm or affectionate to him like she as much to Draco, but she was _there._ She had fixed his collar when he was too young to do it himself. She had worried about him when he had crashed his broom into an extremely large thorn bush. She had made sure he wasn't left alone overnight when his mother went away. She had been the one to take him to Diagon Alley in the summer before his first year.  
All these memories flashed before his eyes in a matter of seconds, but he managed to keep his cool. "Miss. Malfoy." He said softly.  
He might have spotted a brief flash of emotion in the woman's eyes but it was gone before he could really grasp it.

"You're early, the gala does not start for another hour and a half."

"I know, but you know my mother, she always likes to be early." He said, resisting the urge to roll his eyes.

At that moment, the green flames roared to life behind and out stepped his mother, quickly followed by Darius. "Narcissa." His mother exclaimed, smirking. "How was the trip?"

They conversed for a few moments, while Blaise stood off to the side, bored. This was almost a sign of what was to come tonight—a false pleasant greeting, and then being pushed off to the side and being ignored.

"Blaise." Narcissa caught his attention. "Draco is up in his room getting ready, if you wish to join him."

No, he didn't want to join him. They hadn't talked to each other since the first day of finals at Hogwarts when Draco had asked him if he knew anything about Valica's parentage. He didn't at the time, and Draco just nodded and didn't say anything else to him.  
The look on Arianna's face told Blaise that this wasn't a choice though. He needed to go upstairs and play nice with Draco for… surprise, surprise… his _reputation_.

Blaise nodded, and departed from the room to take the first flight of stairs. Malfoy Manor was a huge place, and Blaise had even managed to get lost a time or two in it. He knew where Draco's room though, as he been on this route so often that he could most likely make it with his eyes closed.

He knocked on the door, and leaned on the wall, trying his best to act nonchalant, like this wasn't different.

The door swung open to reveal Draco Malfoy standing there, his shirt only halfway buttoned, and his hair still uncombed. His eyes widened as he surveyed Blaise, standing outside his door.

Silence filled the hallway, and Blaise cleared his throat. "Yo."

Draco seemed to debate whether to slam the door in his face, but must have decided against it. "What do you want?"

"Your mum sent me up." He shrugged. "Mind letting me in?"

Draco hesitated before shrugging and letting the door swing open. "Whatever. Don't touch anything too nice, though. I don't want to get blood traitor smeared everywhere… doesn't look good on my family's reputation."

"Ah, Draco, always the gracious host." Blaise smirked, as he walked past Draco into the room. It wasn't any different then he remembered. The Slytherin crest was plastered everywhere—on the bed, walls, dresser. One whole wall was taken up by a bookshelf that was overflowing with books. Draco's broom lay propped up against his dresser. The carpet was Slytherin green, of course, while the walls were silver. The bed that had been made, was black other than the Slytherin crest. The air smelled of a mixture between arrogance, prejudice, and cinnamon. Blaise almost smiled and plopped down on the bed. "I see you haven't done much with the place."

"Why change what isn't flawed?" Draco asked.  
Blaise didn't miss the underlying message Draco had put in there.

"Ask my mother that question if you don't mind. Do you see what she did to my hair? Made me chop it all off!"

Draco ignored his stab at humor, and continued buttoning up his shirt.

Uncomfortable silence fell over the two of them, and Blaise sighed internally.

"Your mum is going to make you button up the last few top ones." Draco pointed out quietly.

Blaise smirked, "Yeah… I know. Figured I'd enjoy it while it last at least…"

Draco nodded and hesitated before quietly asking, "Why must you ask for trouble?"

Blaise was quiet for a second, trying to think of how to phrase his answer it. He leaned back on the bed and placed his hands behind his head. "I don't ask for it, I just don't avoid it." He said simply.

"Why?" Draco exclaimed in exaggeration. "Why did you start going all rebellious against everything? Why'd you have to go and change _everything_? I mean, honestly Blaise! You had it so _easy_! Easier than _me_, even! You don't have a father who is constantly hounding you to be better than Potter and everyone else around you! You don't have that many rules! Your mother lets you go where you please, when you please. You could be perfectly mediocre in school and she wouldn't even _care!_ All you had to do was follow the pureblood way! Why would you give something like that up?"

Blaise was quiet, despite Draco's raised voice. He laid there, calm and contemplating how to answer.  
"A 'No' uttered from the deepest conviction is better than a 'Yes' merely uttered to please, or worse, to avoid trouble." He closed his eyes. "That was from Gandhi."

Draco stood there, taking deep breathes. "He was a mud-blood lover that was _assassinated!_ That's basically an omen in itself, Blaise!"

Blaise hesitated, "Yes, I suppose I could have chosen a better quote from a different person. But I just _love_ that quote, it's got a nice philosophical tone to it. Give me a few moments, I'll try to think of another one by someone who didn't die so… tragically."

Draco shook his head, "Yeah, whatever, it's beautiful. You should hire Madam Malkin to crochet it into one of your robes." He turned back to his dresser and pulled out a comb.

Blaise nodded, "Yeah… the old bat would probably charge me ten galleons a word. You know she doesn't like me."

"You did call her an old baboon the last time she was sizing you for robes. I mean all she did was poke you in the arm a few times with a needle."

"Stick my arm a few times? I couldn't tell whether the bat was trying to size me or perform acupuncture!"

Draco couldn't help but give off a loud laugh. It shocked the hell out of Blaise, and even Draco stopped and got all wide eyes.

Then Blaise burst out laughing, harder than he had in months. Draco joined in after a moment until they were both clutching their sides, and had tears in their eyes. Finally, they had calmed down enough so that they were both just chuckling randomly.

Draco sighed as he rubbed his hand through his neatly combed hair, messing it back up. It was a nervous habit of his.

"It's not easy you know." Blaise said quietly. "Giving everything up like that. Having all the people you grown up with turn your back at on you." He was quiet for a few moments before finally sitting up. "Listen, Drake… I realize that I insulted you at the beginning of term last year. I'm sorry, okay? I really am. I'm not going to shove my belief down your throat anymore. Why don't we just keep it neutral for now on, eh? No talking about mudbloods or bloodtraitors… let's just leave _that_ be for now. That's how Theodore, Astoria, and I have been getting along for the past few months. And hell, I always liked you better than the two of them."

Draco rolled his eyes at the last comment. "I'm touched."

Blaise scowled, which caused Draco to smirk.

Finally Draco hesitated and ran his hand through his hair. "I don't know…"

"I'm not going to flaunt it like I did last year." Blaise admitted quietly. I've got a few tricks of my sleeves this year, and I learned a few more things than just how to punch someone. I think people are going to lay off a bit more this year, once that realize I can defend myself better. And I'm not going to stop talking to Valica, but I'm not really going to purposely bring attention to it, you know? I miss my friend though, dude. I'm sick of not having any guy friends… Theodore doesn't count; he doesn't talk much you know."

Draco was quiet, and he picked his comb back up and combed his hair backwards. Finally he sat it down and turned back to him. "Fine, whatever, stop groveling like a Hufflepuff, and let's go downstairs. Next thing you know, you'll be trying to hug me."

Blaise rolled his eyes, "And you know, this'll get my mum off my back."

Draco grabbed his dress robe that was plain black except green linings.

"Tilly!" Blaise called, he jumped when the house elf appeared in front of him. "My robe please."

"Yes sir." She squeaked before disappearing, and then reappearing with his robe. He slipped it on over his clothes and followed Draco out of the room.

"So just tell me one thing." Draco said, as they walked towards the tearoom where his parents would most likely be with Blaise's mother and current step-father. "That Valica Quem girl… is she the reason you went all non-prejudice?"

Blaise shook his head, "No, it had been coming for a while though. The only thing she is guilty of is being there when I needed a friend." Draco rolled his eyes, but nodded.  
"She's different." Blaise said after a moment, and I know you noticed that. Last year you were always watching her like she was just going to explode any moment…"

Draco nodded. "She's a freak, Blaise."

Blaise laughed quietly, "Yeah, she is."

Once they entered the tearoom, all the adults paused their conversation to look at the two boys.

"Blaise!" His mother snapped, "_Button your shirt!"_

* * *

_Valica's POV_

What do you say to the man you haven't seen for more than two months, and you know… is your _father._ Well, technically.

I mean we had had short bonding time last year, but considering I hadn't found out he was my dad until the practically the last week of school… and I was passed out for half of that, we hadn't had much time.

His words bounced around in my ears, _'Ready to go home?'_

How was I supposed to answer that when I really didn't know the answer? If he would have asked, 'Ready to go to Hogwarts?', I would have answered with an extremely enthusiastic and honest 'Yes!'. But _home?_ What was home? Where was home?  
_  
Home is where the heart is.  
Home is where your love ones reside.  
Home is the place where it feels right to walk around without shoes._

Many cliché sayings filtered through my mind, but to be honest none of them made sense.  
Call me unsentimental but as far as I was concerned my heart was in my chest… and that's where it was going to stay.  
My loved ones were my friends… not only my orphanage friends, but the four friends I had grown to love as my siblings this last term at Hogwarts. I wasn't going to be residing with them, now was I? And yes, Remus Lupin was the most decent man I had ever met. He was kind, kind-hearted, and if I had to choose anyone to call '_dad', _it would have been him. The few times I had spent in his office last year either working on my (unsuccessful) patronus, or simply confiding in him—I had always appreciated his company, but did I really love him?  
And yet again, my unsentimental side filtered through. I wanted to walk around without shoes everywhere… I hated shoes.

"I dropped your textbooks, cauldron, and your owl off at your father's place." Miss. McGonagall informed me. "I know you haven't been able to complete your homework given your situation, but you will be expected to have it completed in time for the start of the term. I have no doubt that you will be able to achieve the task though."  
I smiled small, because of the compliment and the fact that McGonagall would be the one to try to fill this awkward silence with information about _homework_.  
My small smile blossomed into a grin as I digested something though.  
I could barely contain a squeal as I exclaimed, "Homework! _Magic _homework! _Magic!"_ I actually leaned back and laughed. As I looked into my dad's review mirror, I saw a small smile on McGonagall's face, and an actual grin on my father's.

I leaned my head back, but kept my eyes on the small mirror. McGonagall took a book out of the glove box of the car, while Remus met my eyes with his same coloured ones.

They cut away from mine to glance back at the road, but he gave me a hesitant smile. "You cut your hair." He pointed out.

"It wasn't my doing." I informed. "A girl in my dorm decided to take kitchen scissors to my hair while I was asleep. My friend Phoebe was able to fix it as much as she could." I subconsciously rubbed my hand through the longer pieces that brushed my shoulders. "It's a dramatic change though… considering my hair used to be down to my waist."

He peered at me through the mirror again before shaking his head. "Your mom…" He said quietly, "She wore her hair like that in her third through fifth year at Hogwarts—short and choppy. She had side bangs through some of it though."

I remembered the pictures of her with her hair in that style, but I had never put two and two together. Her hair was usually straight, but mine was scrunched and wavy.

The drive was pretty long, considering we were going all the way to London to drop Professor McGonagall off at her flat, and that Remus insisted on taking me to Diagon Alley, though he wouldn't tell me why.

We started off making small talk, but pretty soon my father and I had sunk into a deep conversation about books. We somehow got on the topic of Wizarding fairytales that Remus insisted was a major thing I missed out on. He entertained me by recounting the stories he had memorized. I laughed so hard that even Professor McGonagall closed her book with a shake of the head, and joined in on our conversation.

"I never thought a thirteen year old could enjoy fairytales so much." McGonagall commented, smiling.

"Fourteen." I corrected her lightly. "My birthday was eleven days ago." I said, smiling softly.

Remus groaned, "August 10th… I knew that. I'll make it up to you, I promise."

I rolled my eyes, "Its fine. I don't do anything for my birthday. It'd be kind of weird."

He shook his head, but didn't say anything. I had a feeling that this conversation would be brought back up.

I hadn't had a good night's sleep in over two months, and before I knew it, I had drifted off to sleep.  
I had almost expected to be nightmare free, considering when I had been at Hogwarts they had seemed to ease up. Now that I was out of the orphanage and with two people that I cared about, I had hoped that it wouldn't be as bad. I was wrong, of course. This was different though… this was almost worse.

I suppose my brain knew I didn't have enough time for the full nightmare I usually had, so I just had a shorter one.  
_There was no wondering around my house, or seeing my mother and me. I was in the kitchen watching as the glass around my mother burst mysteriously, and she screamed while trying to shield her face. Then the mysterious cloaked figure that had been revealed as Draco Malfoy the last two nights. A bright green spell came from the tip of his wand and hit my mother in the chest. She slumped backwards and crashed to the floor. The man disappeared leaving my mother dead. Then, as she had the last two nights, her body crumbled to ash before my eyes. And from it flew a silvery patronus shaped like a phoenix.  
I wasn't prepared for what happened next. The ashes came back together to form another person. A teenage girl with a heart shaped face, and dusty brown hair that had streaks of darker brown, blonde, and other various shades of browns and reddish-blonde streaks. The girl was extremely pale—almost dead looking. Her full pink lips were cracked and as she fluttered her eyelids, her irises were revealed to be dull green with streaks of golds and browns.  
I was looking down at me, formed by my mother's ashes.  
Then a car horn sounded._

* * *

I woke up with a jerk. Someone was moving my hair back from my face as I sobbed dryly. I opened to see Lupin's face as he brushed pieces of hair that was stuck to my sweaty forehead.  
"_Shh. _It was just a dream, Valica. You're okay. _Shh._" He said softly, his eyes were filled with worry. I could just make out McGonagall peering at me from behind him.

I calmed my breathing, and nodded my head. "I-I'm okay. Sorry about that."

Remus let out a deep breath and moved back. "Are you sure?"

I nodded hurriedly, embarrassed. "Yes sir." I rubbed the back of my neck and took another deep breath, trying to calm my beating heart.

I didn't think he believed me, but he didn't say anything as he stood up straight. McGonagall seemed to be evaluating me, as if trying to read what my nightmare had been about.  
"Really, I'm fine. It was just a nightmare. We can get back on the road to London."

Remus cracked a small smile, "We're in London, Valica."

My eyes widened and I looked out the opposite window. We had pulled into a parking lot of a broken down building, but I could still make out the busy streets full of impatient drivers. I smiled at the sight of the buildings and shops. People were out on the sidewalk, or riding bikes. We got out of the car, while my dad got my trunk out of the back.

I had been inside this worn out building once, last year. But I had only been with Mistress McGonagall last year. This year was different, I was with my father now.

As we entered the Leaky Cauldron, my eyes fell on Tom—the owner.

He was hunched over and bald, with one tooth in the front. He had scared me last time we entered here, but now I almost welcomed the sight of him. Anything connected with the wizarding world was delightful to me. Heck if Draco Malfoy had walked through the doors of the orphanage a week ago, I would have been so excited that I would have possibly hugged him.  
Okay maybe not _that_ excited.

"Hello Tom." Remus said, smiling at the hunchbacked man.

"Ah, Remus." Tom said, waving from where he was wiping a table and balancing dishes with a wand. "The usual?"

"No thank you, Tom." Remus said, smiling politely. "Just passing through."

They continued through to the back, where they stopped long enough for Remus to tap the appropriate bricks. As the bricks moved and formed the passageway to the wizarding shops, I felt my body tingle in anticipation. Stepping through the passage, I felt lighter than I had in weeks. Despite the bruises on my arms, I was better than I had been in a long time.

"So _now_ can you tell me why you insist to take me to Diagon's Alley?" I asked, laughing.

"Well, I owe you from last year if I remember correctly… or unless you want to go through all of Hogwarts without a wand."

McGonagall departed before we reached Ollivander's, insisting that she needed supplies for the school year. When we arrived at Ollivander's, I was shocked to find that there were already five or six children in there.  
Remus hated crowds as much as I did, and we instead walked to a nearby ice-cream shop that I had saw last year, but never been able to visit.

"Order whatever you want, it's on the house." Florean, the owner insister, smiling at us.

"Now Florean, that's not necessary-" Remus insisted, but the man shushed him.

"Now you listen here, Remus! I remember you and your Hogwarts sweetheart coming by here almost every weekend during your summer breaks. You two would spend up to four hours out here. Now I'll never get a chance to serve her another peppermint and vanilla cone, so the least I can do is give her daughter the flavor of her choice on the house." He looked at me, "And if I gave only you a free cone, your dad here might get his feelings hurt." He winked playfully and I smiled.

Remus sighed and nodded, "Alright."

"Double chocolate, extra fudge, right?" Florean asked.

Remus nodded.

Florean chuckled, "Same old Remus." He looked at me, "How about you sweetheart?"

I looked down at the list of flavors. There was every kind of flavor you could imagine, and even more than that. "Cinnamon, please."

He nodded, smiled and left us without another word.

"When he said your Hogwarts sweetheart…" I mentioned.

Remus smiled, "Your mother, of course." I never dated anyone beside her."

My eyebrows must have raised to my hairline, "Really?"

Remus chuckled, "I mean, yes, I may have went to Hogsmeade with a girl once, or Sirius and James would try and set me up with someone but it never lasted past a week or two. You see, I got a crush on your mum when I was in third year and I never really saw or knew anyone else that even compared to her…" He shook his head.

"You really loved her, didn't you?"

Remus looked at me and smiled sadly, "Let's just say I still have never met anyone that compared to her. I loved her more than anything."

"So you two came here quite often?" I asked as Florean returned and handed us our icecreams and walked off again to serve more customers.

Remus smiled, "Almost every weekend. Your mother hated being cooped up all summer in her house with her family. That prejudice behavior… she hated it so much. But she was always respective to her parents. She was an only child, and practically the apple of her father's eye. She was spoiled rotten." He chuckled softly at the last part. "But she hated being forces to be proper outside of Hogwarts, and one day… or night, rather… she was at a gala being held in celebration for Narcissa and Lucius Malfoy's engagement and she snapped. I don't really know what brought it on, she never told me, but she made a big scene in front of practically every Pureblood family in this part of Britain, and she got on her broom and left. I don't think she even returned to her house and got clothes. She moved in with a friend of hers… Emmeline Vance, and only spoke to her family on very few occasions afterwards, and none of those meetings were civil."

I digested all of this information. Being friends with Blaise had gave me a brief yet impressionable glance at how cruel Slytherins could be once you turned your back on them.

"Why do you think Ollivander's is so full?" I asked him, decided to change the topic.

"Parents are most likely coming out to get their children all of their supplies in case the Quidditch World Cup last too long and they don't have enough time to get the appropriate supplies."

"Quidditch World What?" I asked.

Lupin chuckled. "Cup. It's like when all the finals for professional quidditch teams. The top two of the year compete. It's a very big deal to most wizards. They come from around the entire world to see the competition. I've only been once, when I was like… eight or nine. It left enough of an impression though that I can remember almost every detail to this day."

"It must be something to see." I admitted.

He nodded, "You like quidditch, right?"

I nodded enthusiastically. "My flying is absolutely _dreadful_, but I love watching it."

He peered up at me, and smiled gently, "Then how does going to the Quidditch World Cup sound?"

My mouth dropped open. "Your serious? _Really?_"

He smiled. "Well let me explain the situation before you get _too_ excited." I nodded for him to continue. "This job I have taken… it's basically a consulter for this newspaper called The Quibbler, they're doing a piece about werewolves. They want me to do an interview tonight at their house, and it happens to be close to the Weasley house. And they happen to have going to the cup tomorrow, and when I mentioned that I was picking you up, they wanted me to invite you to accompany them. Harry and Hermione will be joining them too."

I was trying to contain my excitement, but it was becoming harder by the second.

"The only thing is that you could come home a few days after the tournament if it gets out in time, but you would have to go back there because I've got arrangements for jobs out of town, is that alright with you?"

"That's fine, Moony." I said, earnestly. "Really. You have to do what you have to do."

He smiled, "Then you don't mind going to the Weasleys' house tonight."

"Not at all!" I said, grinning. "And hey, Moony. _Thank you_ for getting me out."

He frowned slightly. "Valica… I really what you to remember what I'm about to tell you, okay?" He waited for me to agree before continuing. "I missed basically all of your life. That is my biggest regret _ever_. And even though it may not feel like it to you, I _want, _more than anything, to be your father. Which means if you need anything, _ever,_ I am always here for you."

I let these words sink in. "Sir, I've never trusted any adults, ever. All the adults I knew before Howarts had the common 'I am big, you are small. I'm smart, you're dumb.' Mindset. And then I met Miss. McGonagall and you, and for the first time, I had an adult in my life that cared about me. You two were my first parental figures since my mum. So in a way, you were father all year last year. And for what it's worth, I can't think of anyone that I would have rather had as a dad."

He gave me a large genuine, yet somehow timid grin. "I honestly couldn't think of anyone I would rather have as a daughter."

We ate a bit more of our ice cream before he continued. "You have another adult that cares about you too… almost as much as I do honestly."

I met his eyes, and Remus smiled. "I have two letters from Sirius in the car, just remind me to give them to you. I've only received one since he's been on the run, but all two pages, except two small paragraphs were about you, and how I needed to take care of you, and make sure that I told you how much he wished he could see you." He shook his head, "Sirius has a bit of trust issues, and it takes a while to care about most people, but once he does, he will everything he has into making sure those around him are always safe."

That sounded almost as if I was hearing a description of myself, but I didn't comment about that.  
"I'll make sure to write him."

He took a deep breath, before letting it back out. "One more thing."

"Oh boy." I chuckled. He joined in after a moment.

"When I legally adopted you, you received my last name. But if you want to switch it back to Quem, that's your choice. Or, if you would rather switch your name to Black, because that's the name on your birth certificate, and technically, before he was sent to Azkaban, he was practically your father."

"Can I think about it?" I asked after a few moments of hesitation.

Remus nodded, "Of course."

When we had both finished our ice cream, we left Florean with smiles on our faces and made our way back over to Ollivanders' where the last child was walking out. As we entered, I looked around for Ollivander.

I heard a scuffling sound behind me, and turned to see the eccentric man behind a stack of boxes. He reminded me a lot of Einstein with his crazy hair, shocking blue eyes, and glasses.

"Ah, the two Lupins. Finally discovered your parentage? I wondered last year when you came in whether you would figure it out or not."

Remus and I were equally stunned as Ollivander came sweeping through the bookshelves and past us. "But you've already received a wand, Miss Quem. Fir wood, dragon heartstring if I remember correctly." I nodded.

"And you, Remus, you had Rowan wood, correct? Dragon Heartstring." Remus nodded too.

"Well you see, sir. I had a bit of an accident last year, and my wand broke beyond repair."

Ollivander tutted and shook his head, muttering about careless teenagers. "Let me see what I can do."

I followed him to his desk, with Lupin behind me.

He sifted through boxes before selecting one and turning and handing it to me. "Red oak, dragon heartstring." I hadn't held it for more than two seconds when he took it back. He was about to reach for another box suddenly a box shook beside him. He opened it, and looked inside it before handing it to me. "It's Hazel wood and phoenix feather." As soon as I touched it, sparks admitted from the end.

"Interesting, it's quite a temperamental wand. The wood itself is known for matching their owners emotion at the time. It's best for a master who understands and can manage their own feelings."

I raised my eyebrows at him. "That's not me… at all."

Ollivander looked closely at me, "It picked you, therefor it's you… or it can be you. You'll just have to learn from your wand."

I paused and picked the wand up, and I have to admit that it felt right.  
Remus paid for it, before handing Ollivander the appropriate amount for it.

"Hey Moony," I said as we walked out of the wand shop. "I was thinking about the last name thing…"

"Yes?" He asked, watching me.

"I think I like Lupin." I admitted, and his eyebrows raised at me. "I mean don't get me wrong, I loved my mum and I miss her, but… she's not here anymore. But, you are."

He was quiet, before smiling at me. "To be honest, I was hoping you'd pick Lupin."

I laughed as we made our way back to the car slowly.  
I weighed my new last name on my mind.

Valica Phoenix Lupin.  
It was kind of catchy, huh?

* * *

**A/U- **Christmas, Christmas Eve, holidays, computer problems... and just the fact that I'm a horrible person.

Those are my excuses for not updating sooner. :/

So I put a little Blaise POV in there for you. And him and Draco are cool again! :D And then Valica and Remus! ^-^ Awee.

_Thank you to Abigleave, DancerForver, xXMissAlecVolturiXx, ChaserVine7928, Bookworm6193, GeekFreak132, Anonymous Fan, and GingerBreadDepp. Sorry for the wait, and glad you guys are enjoying my story!_

Read and Review guys! :)) The more there is, the happier I am, and maybe I'll write a bit faster ;D

~Nic


	5. Author's Note

**Authors Note.**

My computer died. My baby, my love, got sick and died. And when the doctors brought her back to life, she returned with no recollection of the life before. (Translation for normal people: My computer got a virus, and when we had it fixed everything was gone). So yes, all 'A Twist Called Valica Quem' chapters that I was revising was removed. All of 'Valica Phoenix: Girl From Ashes' was removed including my EIGHT PAGE FOURTH CHAPTER! All of my other fanfictions that I hoped to show to you guys one day (An Untamable Creature, A Feeling, Stephanie Quem's Story, and a potential BlaisexOC story... GONE) Including some original stories. I have rewritten the original Chapter 4, but I'm afraid I lacked certain motivation given my current loss.

But never fear, a small plant has blossomed in the midst of my desert of despair(I know, I can be a tad dramatic) in the form of some new ideas for Valica, and some more inspiration for her and Draco.  
I am going ahead and placing a disclaimer/claimer. So here it is: **!DISCLAIMER/CLAIMER! **Hopefully you are all aware of this, but I am NOT J.K. Rowling, who is the brilliant woman who created the amazingness of Harry Potter and it's characters((LOVE YOU GEORGE, FRED, NYMPHADORA, REMUS, SIRIUS, SNAPE, AND OTHERS)). Nor can I take credit for any of the Harry Potter locations such as King's Cross, Hogwarts, Shrieking Shack, ect. BUT I can and am taking credit for my original characters, Gale, Valica, Alek, and Phoebe. **  
Read, Review, and Love me despite what I put you guys through! **

**~Nic**


	6. Not Bad So Far

"So you must be Valica!" Mrs. Weasley exclaimed as I got out of my father's car. We had already dropped McGonagall off, so that it was just him and I.  
I had already saw Mrs. Weasley twice before; once at the beginning of last year, at King's Cross, and once at the end of the term when we were exiting the train.  
She was pleasantly plump, but it wasn't unbecoming on her. It made her seem humbler and cute in that over protective mother sort of way. She was short too; much like me, and unlike her four sons that I had previously met. She had the trademark Weasley flaming hair, but it was pulled back into a messy bun with three of four strands falling around her face. Her face was peppered with freckles, and she had dimples on either side of her mouth.  
As she reached where I stood nervously at the car, she opened her arms and hugged me. I felt myself stiffen automatically, but if she noticed, I don't think she cared. As she pulled back and looked at me, she exclaimed to Remus, "Well, she's practically identical to you!"

Remus chuckled, "A bit more feminine."

Mrs. Weasley swatted away his comment. "Oh hush now." She looked me up and down, her eyes taking in the bruises on my arms, and the one on face that was almost similar to a handprint. Her eyes got large, and she looked at my eyes closely, "Oh dear…" She shook her head, "You're much too scrawny. I'll have to put some meat on your bones before you leave, now won't I?"

I smiled small, "I suppose so, ma'am."

Remus pulled my trunk out of the car, but Mrs. Weasley rolled her eyes. "Oh don't bother with that right now, Remus. Come on inside, and join us for a cup of tea. Charlie and Bill arrived just a little while ago."

Remus rubbed his neck, before nodding, "I suppose I can stay for a minute. I just have to make sure to be at the Lovegood place in an hour… don't want to be late for the job."

"Of course."

As we entered the house, I heard a familiar squeal, "Valica!"

I barely had time to register that voice, when something hit me hard from the side, knocking me off balance. If it wouldn't have been for Remus catching me by the elbow, my attacker and I would have both been knocked to the ground.

"Hermione," I choked out as she continued to hug me tightly, which was highly uncomfortable because of the bruises on my back. "I can't breathe!"

"Oh, I'm sorry!" She said, as she finally released me and let me breathe. As she stepped back and looked at me, her eyes darkened.  
I had never told any of my friends about my orphanage life. Draco Malfoy knew, because of my big mouth, and two or three of my teachers were aware. Hermione, however, was observant enough to notice my jumpy behavior last year, or my dislike for closeness, and I had figured long ago that she suspected something. "You cut your hair!" She finally commented.

I laughed, "One of the girls in my dorm decided to bring kitchen scissors to it in the night… my friend had to layer it out."

She smiled, "It's looks good on you, much more… fitting."

I laughed, "How so?" We began walking inside after my father and Mrs. Weasley.

"Well your appearance last year was a little deceiving." She said, grinning. At my questioning look, she laughed and shook her head. "The really long and pretty wavy hair made you look innocent and angelic. The short pixie haircut makes you look a little more… mischievous and… well, just you."

I faked a gasp, "Me? Mischievous? You have _got_ to be kidding?"

She laughed, and I couldn't help but grin, "I've missed you so much… and I've been really worried too." Her face clouded at the last part. "And it seems like good reason."

I pretended not to know what she was talking about. "I don't know what you mean."

She rolled her eyes, "Oh Valica, don't be so clueless. Your arms are covered in bruises, and I can make out the fingers on the red mark across your face. You flinched when I first hugged you, and you look like you've been through hell. I know what that spells out."

I sighed and made sure Mrs. Weasley and Lupin hadn't overheard us, they hadn't. "Listen Hermione… I didn't exactly have the best summer, okay? But it's over now, and I'm not going back."

"They need to be reported!" She argued. "This is happening to other children, Valica!"

"You don't think I know that? I've watched it happen to other children. But it's not as bad as this… I get a little worse treatment. And I've got some friends there… and I don't want anything to happen to them because I didn't keep my mouth shut."

"Valica…" She tried to argue, but I shook my head.

"For the love, Hermione, I'm asking… no, I'm _begging_ for you to drop this."

Hermione sighed, hesitated, and then nodded. "For now."

"Thank you. For the record, though, I _really_ missed you too."

This brought a smile back to her face, though it was a small one. Then, just because I knew it would make her happy, I wrapped my arms around her and hugged her tightly. She returned it just as tight.

We both pulled back, and I saw tears in her eyes. "Now none of that!" I demanded. She laughed, and nodded. "Come on."

I followed her into the kitchen where my eyes fell on two men. One was stockier, with a lot of freckles and shaggy red hair. He had scars and burns on his arms, and welcoming brown eyes.  
The other was taller, but not as well muscled as the man beside him. He had his red hair pulled back in a ponytail. In his ear was a tooth of some sorts, and he had a cheesy large grin that I had saw plastered on the twins' face from time to time. He was good-looking in that bad boy, mischievous kind of way that also reminded me a bit of Fred and George.

"Charlie Weasley." The shorter one said standing up, and shaking my father's hand and then mine.

"Hello Remus." Bill said, standing up and grasping my father's hand. "How've you been?"

"Remus Lupin." He introduced himself to Charlie, and then shook Bill's hand. "I've been okay, Bill."

"Charlie, Bill—this is Valica. She's a friend of Ron's." Mrs. Weasley introduced. I waved politely.

"Valica? Is that the name of the girl that George was going on about?" Bill asked Charlie suddenly. Charlie seemed to ponder the thought for a moment before he nodded, "I think it was, Bill."

"You and George Weasley?" Remus asked me, raising his eyebrows.

I rubbed the back of my neck nervously—another trait I picked up from my dad. "We're really good friends."

Mrs. Weasley's eyes were the size of saucers and Bill chuckled. "My brother and Katie Bell are good friends, but I don't hear him going on and on about her."

I sputtered nervously, but Hermione came to the rescue, "Where did the twins' get off to, anyway?"

"They went with Ron and Arthur to pick up Harry from his aunt and uncle's. They should be back any minute. I better get started on the cooking. Hermione, dear, would you mind going and getting Ginny for me?"

Hermione smiled and hesitantly left me, as if the moment she turned around I would disappear.

When she returned, I recognized Ginny Weasley behind her. Ginny and I had never truly gotten close, but I had talked to her a few times. She came with a few token Weasley signatures—the flaming red hair, sprinkled freckles, and the fiery attitude.  
Mrs. Weasley insisted on healing the bruise on my face and the visible ones on my arms. After a moment's hesitation, I decided to let her because I didn't want to have to answer anyone else's questions about my bruises.

Remus stood up afterwards, and thanks Mrs. Weasley for the tea.  
"I really must be off, though. Thank you, Molly. Tell Arthur that I said thank you and I wish I could have stayed a bit longer."

I walked with him out to the car, so that I could get my trunk. Mrs. Weasley must have sensed that the two of us needed our privacy for a little while because she remained inside.  
Remus turned to me like he didn't know what to say. Neither did I.

He cleared his throat, and I looked up at him. "Listen, I know you haven't had the best living situation…" He rubbed the back of his neck nervously. "And if I would've known that at the end of last year, I would have never let you go back there. I just hope you know that. And if you ever need to talk about that, I hope you know I'm here to listen. And…" he sighed, "I might not be real good at this parenting thing yet, considering I haven't had much practice, but I'm going to do my best."

"You've done pretty well so far." I admitted. I smiled and leaned against the car. "I might not be real good at this daughter thing either, though. But… I promise to do my best."

He gave me a smile. "You've done pretty well so far."

I chuckled and hesitantly hugged him gently. He hugged me back, and patted my hair. "Guess we'll both just have to help each other out then." He said. He stepped back and looked at me, before shaking his head. "I've only been doing this dad thing for a day though, and I'm already not wanting to leave… I must be doing something right." He sighed. "You know that you can write me anytime, for any reason. And this summer, we'll learn more about this parenting thing."

I laughed and nodded, "I've never gotten a letter outside of Hogwarts so this shall be interesting!"

Finally, he got in the car, and I grabbed my trunk. I waved at the car until he was out of sight, before dragging it back to the Burrow.

Hermione came back out to help me with my trunk, and to show me where I would be staying with her and Ginny.

When we walked downstairs, I heard a whooshing noise, before seeing a huge green flame light up the fireplace. From it, stepped a familiar redhead. I'm ashamed to admit that my heart jumped when I saw the face, but then sank because it was the wrong twin. How horrible is that? I haven't even been out of the orphanage for a day, yet George Weasley is giving me funny feelings… and he wasn't even here yet!

Fred stepped out of the fireplace laughing like mad.  
"What's gotten into you?" Charlie asked.

"I made sure to drop a few Ton-Tongue Toffees on the floor so that maybe Harry's prat of a cousin would eat them." He admitted between fits of laughter. He hadn't noticed my presence yet.

Another whoosh, and another Weasley twin stepped out with a trunk, a sly crooked smile on his face that twisted my stomach. I felt the need to hide behind Hermione, but my pride and reputation would not allow it. Thankfully, he hadn't noticed me.  
He looked slightly different from last year. He had grown a couple of inches, and had grown his hair out longer so that it fell in his eyes. Those eyes—the brown ones that I had caught myself get caught up in more than once last year.

"Did he eat it?" Fred asked him, grinning giddily.

"I'm not sure, I left right after you did." George admitted, looking regretful. "I saw him eye it though, so it's only a matter of ti-"

Suddenly another whoosh, and the second member of my trio, stepped out of the fireplace.  
Ron had gotten taller over the summer, and like the twins—allowed his hair to grow out more.

"Did he eat it?" Fred repeated the same question he had asked George not even thirty seconds ago.

Ron gave a similar answer however, much to the twins' annoyance and displeasure.

"What's this newest concoction—this Ton-Tongue Toffee?" Charlie asked the twins.

"It's this new treat we came up with-" Fred started.  
"That makes your tongue grow several feet long." George completed.  
"It's not too terrible though, considering it only takes a-" Fred again.  
"-Shrinking charm to get it down." George stated.

"No crazy side effects this time?" Bill asked.

"Nah, we've tested it." George said, shrugging nonchalantly.

"On who?" Ginny asked nervously.

"Ourselves mostly… and once on that cat of Hermione's." Fred answered.

Hermione was several steps in front of me so that even when she answered with an indigent and furious 'What!', I was still unnoticed by any of the three redheads that had stepped through the fire.

The green flames once again flew up, and out stepped my best friend.  
Some called him 'The Boy Who Lived'. Others referred to him as 'The Dark Lord's Demise'. I just thought of him as Harry, the kid who knew me better than anyone else, it seemed. He had the same black hair that stuck out in random and messy directions. He had the round glasses that silhouetted the green eyes he had inherited from his mother. I had never quite noticed that my best friend was actually kind of good looking, but even though I noticed now, I didn't think much of it. Harry and I weren't like that. We loved each other deeply, but there was no doubt in either of our minds that it was purely a _sibling_ love. His hair, like the three that came before him, was in need of a trim. I almost felt left out because, while I had cut my hair this year, they had all decided to let it grow. If it got as long as mine was now, I would take scissors to it in their sleep.

"Did he eat it?" Fred almost whined.

"_Yes._ What did you give him?" Harry laughed.

"Ton-Tongue Toffee." Everyone in the room answered, causing them all to burst out laughing. Bill and Charlie introduced themselves to Harry.  
Once again, and hopefully the last time, the fireplace lit up. From it stepped a tall, balding man, that had a furious expression on his face.

"That _wasn't_ _funny_, Fred!" he shouted. "What on earth did you give that Muggle boy?"

"I didn't give him anything," said Fred, with another evil grin. "I just dropped it and he ate it."

"You did it on purpose!" Mr. Weasley yelled loudly.

"How big did his tongue get?" George asked from where he sat across the table from Charlie and Bill.

"Almost four feet long by the time the muggles let me shrink it!" Mr. Weasley roared.

Everyone in the room burst out laughing, and even I had let loose a chuckle.

"It isn't funny! You just wait until I tell your mother about-"

"Tell their mother about _what_?" Said a dangerous voice from the doorway. Mrs. Weasley was standing there dangerously, her eyes narrowed, and her hands placed firmly on her hips. Mr. Weasley seemed to shrink a bit, and it was obvious that he hadn't planned on really selling his sons out to their mother.

"Oh, where are my manners?" Mrs. Weasley said suddenly. "Hello Harry, dear. Arthur, this is Valica," she said gesturing to my place on the stairs, "Remus's daughter— Ron's friend. She'll be going with you to the Quidditch World Cup tomorrow."

George turned around so fast in his chair that the chair itself wobbled. His eyebrows were raised on his head, and he gave me one of those large grins that I had always found contagious. I smiled back and waved. He made a move to get out of his chair, but Mrs. Weasley practically growled, and told him to sit down. Fred too.

"Valica!" Ron and Harry's voice blended together at the exact time, although Harry shouted Hermione's name too.

I walked down the rest of the stairs, to be attacked by Ron first. Harry gave Hermione a hug, while I almost choked from the force of Ron's hug. I couldn't even stiffen. "Can't. Breathe!" I choked out.

Ron laughed, and stepped back. "You cut your hair!"

"Yeah," I laughed, "Actually I got it cut… twice."

Harry was next, and it was now my turn to attack. The force of my hug almost sent us both sprawling, but Ron managed to catch him. Harry didn't protest at my hug either.  
"How was your summer?" He murmured.  
I sighed, shaking my head. He laughed. "Me too."

We both stepped back to look at each other. "Jeesh, Harry! When are you going to do something about your hair?"

He laughed, but it was cut off by Mrs. Weasley's continuation of the former subject, "So what were you going to tell me Arthur?"

"It was nothing dear, the boys just had a little—I already taken care of it."

"It wasn't nothing, was it? BOYS, I SWEAR IF THIS HAS SOMETHING TO DO WITH WEASLEY'S WIZARD WHEEZES—!"

"Hey Ron, why don't you show Harry where he's going to be staying?" Hermione said, hinting for us to escape.

"He already knows where he's staying, he stayed here last time." Ron said, not yet catching on.

"But I don't!" I declared. "Why don't you show me Ron?" I said, glaring at him.

"Oh!" He said, finally catching on. "Oh yeah, sure."

He got up and nodded. Ginny joined us too. Fred and George made move to follow but Mrs. Weasley stopped them in their tracks with a 'Don't you dare move!"

I muffled a laugh at the twins' facial expressions, and followed Ron up the stairs.  
He pointed out each room, and who they belonged too as we made our way up.

"What is Weasley's Wizard Wheezes?" Harry asked.

As Ron finished explaining it, a door above us slammed, causing the five of us to look up. Percy Weasley stood at the entrance of his door, glaring at us. His facial expression reminded me a lot of Molly Weasley. "I was just wondering what all the noise was, since I'm _trying_ to do a very important-"

"Hi Percy!" I exclaimed, grinning and waving. I had even found it in my heart to miss Ron's most obnoxious brother this summer. As I mentioned before, I would have probably screamed and jumped on any wizard this summer… except Pansy Parkinson.

Percy seemed a little bit thrown off by my excited greeting but he recovered with a little wave. "Hello Valica."

We continued on our way, as Percy closed his door, still looking confused.

When we finally got to Ron's room, I laughed at the sight. It was a messy room, and everything was a gross shade of orange that contrasted horribly with Ron's hair. But it was so… Ron Weasley. I looked at the moving posters on the wall portraying different images of the Chudley Cannons zooming around on brooms. Some of the wizards were hitting bludgers, or catching quaffles. It reminded me of the quidditch games that lead up to some of the best and worst memories of Hogwarts. For example, Harry getting attacked by dementors after the first match. And then meeting Sirius Black for the first time after the second match… or George kissing me after the final match. I blushed at that last one. Note to self—do not think about George Weasley unless you want to look like a blushing idiot in front of his family.

"So how long are you staying?" Ron asked me.

"If the Quidditch World Cup gets done in time, I'll be leaving for a two or three days to stay with Professor Lupin- I mean Moony. But I'm coming back afterwards and staying until with you for the rest of summer."

"So how bad was the Dursley's?" Hermione asked Harry. She had the same anxious look in her eyes that I had noticed when she first saw me.

Harry shrugged and left it at that. Like Ron and Hermione, I was anxiously waiting for Ginny to leave so that we could question Harry about hearing from Sirius. I had two letters from him, but I didn't want to read them in front of anyone, simply because I didn't know how they would affect me. Last thing I needed was to burst out crying in front of anyone here.

But part of me hoped that the letters would bring me to tears, simply to see if I could still cry. It had a been a 'rough' summer, and something within almost seemed to not be there anymore.  
I remembered how worried I had been at Hogwarts that I wouldn't be able to adjust back to the orphanage.  
Now my fears were mirrored. Could I go from life at the orphanage to become that semi-emotional girl from Hogwarts. I couldn't even be hugged by Hermione, my best friend, without flinching.

Changing my name may have symbolized more than my parentage—I was starting to think that it symbolized the change of who I was. I wasn't the girl from the orphanage now, I was a wizard, and daughter of Remus John Lupin. If only I could just become that girl.

* * *

_**Blaise's**_** PoV**

"Just because Pansy's developed some breasts, she now believes her dress should reach her belly-button." Blaise Zabini remarked, while sipping his apple cider, before scrunching his nose in distaste. He was exaggerating of course, but Draco saw his point.

"I still cannot believe she likes me." Draco muttered. Blaise just raised his eyebrows like he didn't believe him.

"You can't?" Blaise asked him, "That's odd considering you spent half of last year snogging her."

Draco rolled his eyes. "Father suggested that I needed a girl on my arm."

"And you couldn't do better than Pansy?"

"Awe, she's not that bad. She's got high status, at least. And she's not bad looking..."

"Dude, we've known her forever! I still remember when she learned where babies come from!"

Draco smirked at the memory, "Oh yeah, she burst out crying." He chuckled slightly.

Blaise shifted uncomfortably, "I just never pictured you and Pansy dating."

Draco rolled his eyes, "We are not dating. We're simply taking advantage of her being attracted to me... I mean, think of it as me doing her a favor."

Blaise shook his head at his best friend. "What do you see in her... Look wise? She looks like she got hit in the face with a board."

Draco laughed, before considering it for a moment. "She's got nice hair."

Blaise silently evaluated Pansy's hair... It was dark brown and surprisingly smooth. She had cut it shorter this year, so that it curved under her chin.

Not bad, but Blaise preferred lighter hair.

Like maybe medium brown hair, that glinted a shade of red in certain lights. Especially if it was long and a perfect mix between wavy and curly.

He winced when he realized that he had been thinking a particular person with that exact type of hair. He knew she didn't feel the same way. "Yeah," he muttered, "I guess she's alright."

Draco looked closer at him, but finally looked back out at the girls mingling. "I never really imagined you dating a Gryffindor either. But you and Valica…"

Blaise choked slightly on his apple cider. "Me and..." he shook his head, "No."

Draco smirked, "From that reaction, I'm going to assume that isn't because of you."

Blaise rolled his eyes. "Leave it."

Draco put his hands up in mocking surrender, before chuckling.

Blaise ignored him, before searching for another topic of conversation. "Asteria is turning into a beautiful young woman."

Draco nodded, "Yeah, I suppose she is."

Blaise smirked, "Better looking than Pansy, that's for sure. And at least she's not practically a little sister to you. Why not choose her to have off your arm?"

Draco frowned at him, "You know why. Her parents were already discussing with mine about how good her and I would look together, and how beneficial it would be to our reputation."

Blaise shook his head, "So what?"

Draco cleared his throat, "So we're most likely going to get married anyway, and I'll have to spend the rest of my life with her. I might as well have a little fun while I'm at Hogwarts." He frowned and tilted his head while looking at Asteria's sister who had just joined Pansy. "Does Daphne still drool over you?"

Blaise smirked, "I doubt it, considering my reputation was practically tarnished last year. At least something positive came from it."

Draco smirked also, "I still don't see why that was such a big deal to you… Daphne's better looking than Pansy, and almost as good looking as her sister."

Blaise seemed to consider it for a moment; taking in her pale complexion, bright blue eyes, and perfectly straight blonde hair. Like her sister, her lips were naturally a deep shade of red. He shrugged, "Not good enough for me."

Draco rolled his eyes, "Not good enough for you, or just not as good as Valica."

Blaise remained cool and collected, "Both, I suppose." He glanced at Draco, "You have to admit Valica is…" he paused, trying to think of the correct word, "breath-taking."

Draco seemed to consider this for a moment, "She's alright."  
Unknown to Blaise, Draco's mind was wondering back to the time Valica had revealed to him her real father. The actual conversation had started, however, with her plowing over him on the stairwells and him somehow ending up on top of her. He remembered meeting her eyes, only to be flabbergasted with the intricate shades and designs that were within them. The eyes had also harbored her current feelings—the anger and sorrow she must have felt when realizing that her friend's murderer was her father. But beneath those emotions there was a more guarded look that he saw before, though he couldn't place where at the time. It was only recently he had realized that it was in the mirror that he had seen that guarded expression.

Blaise snorted at Draco's 'alright'. "Oh please, Malfoy, she's obviously not just alright, for if I remember correctly it was _you_ that snogged her aboard the Hogwarts Express."

"And then she _punched_ me." Draco spat, causing for Blaise to smirk with pride.

* * *

_**Valica**_

We went downstairs later, and I accompanied the trio outside to where we heard the sounds of wood smashing and shouts of laughter. It ended up being the older brothers—Charlie and Bill—using magic to control two tables and make them crash into each other.

"The way boys choose to entertain themselves will always amaze me." I told Hermione quietly.

She snorted, "Tell me about it. I'm waiting for them to take their shirts off and start beating their fists against their chest."

I laughed and scrunched my nose at the visual that filled my mind.

As we got close enough, my eyes fell on the twins were sitting on the ground looking a tad bit sullen, with their arms crossed and slight pouts on their lips. I thought the pout made George look adorable, though I would have shoved needles beneath my finger nails then admit to anyone present. Fred looked up and caught sight of me and grinned. Even though George was right next to him, Fred yelled out loudly, "Oh Georgieeeeee…"

George looked at him confused before following his gaze to me. Suddenly a broad grin spread across his face and he jumped up. He met halfway across the yard and hugged me tightly. Suddenly a wave of memories crashed over me as I hugged him—his warm brown eyes, his goofy grin that never failed to make me smile, and his contagious laugh. Another warm memory fluttered to mind of that beautiful few seconds after the quidditch match where he had kissed me…  
I was glad my face was buried in his chest as he hugged me, so he couldn't the blush that must have made its way to my cheeks as I thought about this.

After a few moments, we pulled back at the same time. "How was your summer?" I asked, grinning.

"Much better than mine, given the fact that _my_ whole summer I had to listen to him go on about you." Fred said, grinning. He was still sitting on the ground, and we made over towards him, Charlie, and Bill. The latter two were eyeing George and I with grins on their faces, nudging each other. I had a feeling that the two of them had had great influence over a younger Fred and George.

Fred lifted his hand up and asked me to help him up so he could give me a hug. I rolled my eyes and obliged, but instead of getting up, Fred grabbed my hand and just pulled my down next to him.

"You lazy git, too lazy to even get up and give me a hug." I said, sticking my tongue out. He laughed and hugged me warmly.

I always had a feeling that out of the trio and me, I had always been the closest to the twins. Before the trio and I had really gotten close, the twins had been my friends, along with Katie Bell. Unfortunately, thanks to my up and down relationship with George last year, I hadn't spent as much time with them as I wish I would have—one of my few regrets of Hogwarts.

I watched as the boys battled with the tables, and George settled down next to me. The trio sat in front of us, with Harry and Ron talking quidditch, and Hermione leaning back against me propped up legs, reading a book that I hadn't noticed she had brought with her.

Pretty soon, the subject of Weasley's Wizard Wheezes, was brought up.

"Don't say anything to mum-" Fred started, which caused me to roll my eyes, considering after the episode with the twins, Mrs. Weasley terrified me as much as she seemed to scare her sons. "But we've already had plans for the shop for years. We've already set up boxes to sell at Hogwarts, full of assorted products. Five galleons each."

"Five galleons?" I exclaimed. I had always had trouble configuring wizarding money in the same terms as the muggle money I had been raised on, but even I knew this was asking for a bit much. "Isn't that pushing it a tad."

George shook his head, "Nah, you would be surprised what some people are willing to do in order to get out of class. We sold almost ten Nose-Bleed Nougats a day last year. This box comes with every get-out-of-class gag we have… they'll sell like…" He paused, trying to think of an appropriate ending.

"Quidditch World Cup tickets." Fred finished, grinning hugely.

"Which you're going to…" George said, bumping her shoulder,  
"With us." Fred finished.

I couldn't help but laugh. "It's unbelievable, isn't it? I'm going to the quidditch world cup!" I laughed. "Which is a wizarding sport…"

Fred and George looked at me confused, but Harry shared a look of understanding with me.

"My whole last year at Hogwarts seemed like a dream." I said, shaking my head. "Almost every morning when I woke up, I would open my trunk and look at my broken wand from last year and my textbooks just to remind myself that it was real, and that I would be coming back. And then I started getting crazy ideas in my head like McGonagall would forget to come and get me and bring me back to Hogwarts."

"We would steal the car again and come and get you." George grinned.

"You would not!" Thundered a loud, commanding voice. We all turned to see Mrs. Weasley, her hands on her hips.

"Not even to save Valica, mum?" George said, playing innocent.  
"I mean look at her, she's half-starved!" Fred pointed out. "You couldn't just-",  
"Leave her in such poor conditions!" It circled back around to George.

I looked down, slightly nervous that they had noticed my malnourished state, but to be fair, I had lost quite a bit of weight.

Mrs. Weasley snorted, "I highly doubt Remus would have let her remain there."

"Remus?" Fred asked, raising his eyebrows.  
"Like Professor Lupin? What does he have to do with anything?" George questioned.

I had forgotten that they didn't know my parentage.  
"Oh yeah, you two, I forgot to mention that he's my dad." I said, smirking.

"Your-",  
"Dad?"

I nodded, "Yup, he's my biological father. And he adopted me as of today, so that you are now looking at Valica Phoenix Lupin." I grinned at that last part. And then, just because I felt like shocking them some more, I asked them "Oh, and you know Professor Snape?"

"Please tell me he's not your mum." Fred said tightly.

I laughed, "Nope, he's my second cousin on my mum's side."

The twins eyes about popped out of their heads, along with the shock on the rest of the gathered faces other than the trio.

"I can see the resemblance…" Hermione pointed out.

Believing her to be talking about Severus Snape, I shot her the darkest glare at could manage when I was in such a light mood.  
"Not to Snape!" Hermione laughed, "To Professor Lupin!"

I breathed a sigh of relief. "That's what everyone has told me." I grinned, "And then they think themselves foolish, because they didn't see it sooner."

"Hagrid did." Harry pointed out. "Remember when we came to comfort him about Buckbeak's trial, and he was talking about your mum? Then he said something about her dating someone, and he cut off really fast, like he had just realized something important?"

I had forgotten that incident, which surprised me considering I had actually remembered every other time one of the teachers would stumble across my resemblance to Lupin and quickly try to cover it up, for example, Madam Pomfrey.

"Well, don't take this the wrong way, Valica, but right now you look more like Sirius Black than any of your other family members." Ginny pointed out. The trio's eyes bulged slightly at the mention of Sirius, but I kept a nonchalant face, since I knew where she was going with this. I had thought the same thing just yesterday morning, when I looked in the mirror. "I mean with those lines under your eyes! When was the last night you actually had a good sleep?"

I smiled, "When was our last night of Hogwarts?"

Mrs. Weasley cleared her throat. "Let's not let thoughts of Sirius Black dampen the evening. Charlie! Bill! Put those down! Boys, set the food out! Girls, help me bring out the rest!"

I briefly imagined Mrs. Weasley as a drill sergeant… it wasn't very hard to imagine.

Pretty soon nine red-heads, a boy with glasses, and a girl with slightly bushy hair were all gathered around a table full of food.  
If Remus and Sirius had been there, my family would have been complete.

And a small part of me started wondering if this is what 'coming home' meant.

* * *

**Author's Note: **So I took down the sneak peak because I agree with what was said. That was just an idea I had, and I was really excited with it. I still am, and it will probably come up in the next book, or the end of this book. We'll just have to see!

Also, I've decided I had way to many fanfiction ideas at one time, so I want you guys to tell me which one you guys would rather me make first priority after Valica  
-Charlie Weasley/OC  
-Cedric Diggory/OC and Draco Malfoy/OC  
or my  
-Stephanie Quem one shots/possible novel.

Thanks for my two reviews! Appreciated both, including the constructive critism.

Love you guys.  
Read and Review.  
Quidditch World Cup coming up next!

~Nic


	7. Luck, And Not-So-Luck

Something heavy hit me… much to my displeasure.  
"Valica, wake up!"

"'Erm-I-Nee, Idnwantagetot'fbd."

"What?" She exclaimed.

I groaned and lifted my head from the pillow so that I could be understood clearer. "Hermione, I don't want to get out of bed."

"Too bad!" She said, throwing a pillow at me.

I groaned again and fell back to the warmth and comfort of my pillows.

"Maybe you are forgetting where you are…" She said, "If you don't get up in the next five seconds, I'm going to get George, and he can come wake you up."

I sleepily raised my head off the pillow and glared in her direction. She must have just recently waked up too—her hair was in disarray, and she was still in her wrinkled pajamas.  
"You would not dare." Even as I said this, I knew that she would. Grumbling I untangled myself from the sleeping bag I had slept in last night. Ginny was still sleeping peacefully on the bed.

"The Hogwarts Express could come running through the house, and I doubt she would wake up." Hermione grumbled. "Cold water… that is the only thing that will do it. That and Harry walking into the room."

I smirked at this. I had heard tales about how taken Ginny had been with Harry her first and second years. She hadn't had much of a chance to swoon over him last year though, given Sirius, who had seemed to be a bad guy, had taken up most of Harry's mind.

"Is she going to be able to handle spending two weeks with Harry in the same house?" I asked Hermione as I opened my trunk and sifted through my shirts, trying to find one that would be presentable. At the Orphanage, I had never really cared if my shirts were stained or tore, but here in the presence of the Weasleys'(Not just George!) I didn't want to look sloppy.

"I told her she could kind of relax around him more, and let him see the real her." Hermione said, "She agreed with me." She pulled out a pair of dark jeans and a plain blue shirt. Suddenly she jumped up, pulling a box from her trunk. "I forgot about this!"

"What?" I asked, raising my eyebrows in confusion.

"Your birthday present, silly!" She exclaimed, shaking her head in false mock annoyance.

"Hermione, I don't-"

"I already bought it, Valica Qu- Lupin! So just quiet your protests, open it, and thank me!" She protested.

I hesitated before talking the box sheepishly. "Thanks Hermione." I opened the box and pulled out a white shirt with a green four-leaf clover design on it.

"Ron told me in his letter that we were going to be supporting Bulgaria, and I figured you might need to show some spirit." She smiled, "And plus, if I learned anything from last year, it's that you have almost as bad of luck as Harry does. Four leaf clovers are supposed to be lucky, maybe that will rub off on you."  
I had a feeling that she also realized that I would need another shirt this year, considering I had to borrow a few from her during our last school year.

I smiled, feeling my heart tighten slightly at Hermione's thoughtfulness. "You really didn't have to do that, Hermione… but I really appreciate it."

A loud knock on the door interrupted our conversation.

"Come on in." Hermione called.  
Mrs. Weasley's head popped through the door, "I woke you girls up ten minutes ago, why aren't you ready?"

"You know Ginny, Mrs. Weasley." Hermione said, shaking her head.

"Alright, I'll take care of her. You two girls go ahead and get ready." She went to close the door, but hesitated. "Oh yes, Valica, your owl is downstairs with a few letters and a package."

I grinned at the thought of my owl downstairs. "Okay, thank you!"

Before I left to go to the bathroom to get ready, something dawned on me.  
"Hermione, my dad didn't even know he was coming to get me until a few days ago… as far as you should have known, I was staying at the Orphanage until September 1st. How did you know I was coming with you guys?"

She smiled, "I didn't… I just hoped."

Again, my heart swelled with a sisterly love for her. Mrs. Weasley opened the door and carried a pitcher of water. I gulped and made my way around her. As I mentioned before, Ginny had the fiery attitude to match her hair—a trait that every Weasley I knew well possessed. The thought of her wrath being unleashed when she just woke up was enough to motivate me to grab my best pair of jeans, my new shirt, and hurry to the bathroom down the hall.  
As I was changing into my jeans, there was a frantic knock on the bathroom door.  
I gulped, "Um… someone's in here."

"Well no duh, just let me in! _Hurry!_" Hermione's breathless voice answered.

I opened the door and she rushed in and slammed the door behind us.  
"What is your-" I started. I didn't have time to say _problem_, because suddenly a high-pitched shrill screech filled the air.

"What the bloody hell was that for?"

"Ginevra Molly Weasley, if you use that type of language in my house again, I swear-"

"What do you expect, Mum? You just poured freezing water on my head!"

"Well maybe if you would have waked up when Hermione and I tried to wake you up, I wouldn't have had to pour water on your head! Next time I'll let you oversleep and miss the World Cup! Maybe I should make you stay home this time for using such foul language!"

"N-no mum, that's not necessary, it won't happen again. I love you."

I heard Mrs. Weasley exhale of breathe. "Get ready… and _fast _if you want some breakfast."

I looked at Hermione, understanding why she had been so frantic to get out of there.

"I hardly made it out alive!" She exclaimed, causing for me to chuckle. I finished changing and glanced at myself in the mirror—trying to see if I was turning back into that girl from Hogwarts.

I was dressed better than I was two days ago. There was more color in my face this time, and I suppose I seemed happier. My hair was the same though—choppy and short. My skin was still pale. I was still skinny enough that I had to ask Hermione for a belt.

"I like this look on you." Hermione said, smiling at me in the mirror. "It's more mature… and like I said, it fits you better. Even though it would look better if you actually brushed you hair." She teased at the end.

"Oh hush." I stuck my tongue out at her. "I'm not exactly worried about my appearance at the Orphanage."

I was just about to challenge my tangled hair with the mighty brush, when another knock sounded on the door.

"Who is it?" Hermione called.

"Ginny."

Hermione and I both exchanged nervous looks, wondering if she was still peeved about being soaked. Nevertheless, we couldn't just leave her standing in the hall.

She was dressed in a pain of muggle jeans, and a shirt that advertised her love of Ireland. The only way we could tell she had been woken up with cold water was her damp hair, and the fire in her brown eyes.  
We gave her a wide berth as she used the sink in mirror to wash her face and do her hair.

The girl could do hair faster than I though was humanly possible… and without magic. Her long waist-length red hair was braided in the length of time that it took me to brush a section of mine. She laughed at the look on my face. "I'm used to having to dress in a hurry."

"What about other people's hair?" Hermione said, grinning pleadingly at her. One of Hermione's faults was the fact that she wasn't the most patient person… especially with her untamable hair.

Ginny rolled her eyes and laughed, before beckoning Hermione to the mirror so she get to work. "Fine, fine."

I finished brushing my hair while Ginny braided Hermione's. I had never been one to do much with my hair, and now that it was too short to do my signature sloppy bun, I just left it down.

"I would _love _to have your hair." Ginny sighed.

"Why?" I asked, raising my eyebrows questioningly.

"It's so wavy and soft looking…" She said, frowning. "And you can wear any color with your hair. Look at mine! It's red, which is cool, but if I wear orange or certain shades of red, I clash horribly."

I supposed that was what normal teenage girls worried about.  
I worried about things like my mother's murder, my father running from dementors, and trying to fit in normal society.  
Girls like Ginny, Parvarti, and Lavender… they had problems like their hair clashing with their clothes.  
Man, I just needed to get my priorities straight. _Appearance _before_ personal issues_.

I smirked at how similar to Blaise Zabini I just sounded.

"It's alright, I guess." I admitted, shrugging. She shook her head like I was just ignorant to how lucky I was.

Finally, we exited the bathroom and made our way downstairs. Despite the turmoil, it had only taken us about ten minutes to get ready.

When I reached downstairs I was greeted by the muttering of Harry and Ron as they shoved toast and jam into their mouth, while struggling not to fall asleep.

I was feeling pretty awake by now though, and as I sat down, Harry glared up at me.  
"Why are you so awake… your normally the grumpiest person I know in the mornings." He groaned and laid his head on his hands.

"Are you kidding me?" I said, grinning. "I'm going to the _Quidditch World Finals _with my _best friends_. I am free of the orphanage, and after going to the _Quidditch Finals_, I'm going to see my _father_! Not to mention that in two weeks, I'm going to be at Hogwarts! Woo-whoo!"

"No 'woo-whoo'ing this early in the morning." Fred grumbled as he stalked in the kitchen.  
"Nope. No 'woo-whoo'ing until at least noon." George added, but he managed a smile towards me.

"Speaking of 'whoo'ing…" Hermione said, gesturing to the proud speckled owl that was sitting on the windowsill.

"Buddah!" I jumped up and rushed to the owl. She nipped my ear affectionately, and I stroked her feathers. She held her leg out where three letters were attached, and a pouch. I undid all three, and sat back at the table.

I forced my curiosity down, and made myself look at the letters first.  
One made my fingers tingle with excitement. It was signed 'Padfoot' on the outside… just like three others that remained upstairs in my Pandora's Box. I reminded myself to read them as soon as I was alone.  
The next one made me grin.  
In huge letters, wrote in dark green ink were two words 'Blaise Zucchini.'

I ripped the letter open, and read it excitedly, soaking up every word my best friend had wrote down. He hated writing, so the thought that he had taken the time to write me a letter meant a lot.

'_Dear My Most Dearest Gryffindork Princess,_

_I don't know when you'll be receiving this given you said your bird would be staying with McGonagall. Hopefully your bird is smart enough to know to deliver my letter once you are away from your muggle __palace__ orphanage. If not, I may see you at Hogwarts first.  
Either way, I have not written this letter to tell you how much I miss you. Or out of sheer boredom. As much as I love you, not even you are important enough to receive a letter from my royal hotness.  
No, I have written this letter to complain to you.  
I can see right now, raising your eyebrows and looking at me innocently like your clueless about why I would be angry at you.  
Well, I have a feeling that YOU KNOW. And that you KNEW when you gave me those bloody Chronicles of Narnia books, that I would be disappointed in the end.  
THEY DIED! Valica Phoenix Quem, they ALL died. What kind of ending to a book series.  
Now I can see you glaring and saying something about the 'symbolism' or that the book is 'original' because it's 'realistic' because in real life, happy endings don't happen all of the time.  
Well bullocks is what I say! I don't give a Merlin's Pants about the realism or anything else. I care that they died! Isn't it bad enough that happy ending don't happen in real life? Shouldn't a man be able to at least receive consolation by reading 'happy endings' in books. Books are our way to escape real life!  
So not only is this letter full of griping and complaining… it also holds a warning! (Don't snort! I've gotten tougher this summer. Don't laugh at that!) Here is my warning:  
'IF YOU EVER GIVE ME A BOOK WITH AN ENDING WHERE SOMEONE DIES, I WILL HEX YOU WITH WHATEVER SPELL THAT CROSSES MY MIND! ALSO I WILL TELL DRACO THAT YOU ARE IN LOVE WITH HIM AND THAT YOU HAVE NAUGHTY DREAMS ABOUT HIM. HE'S GULLIBLE ENOUGH TO BELIEVE IT!_

_Hope you're summer isn't as hell as mine. It probably is.  
Missing your anger-issues and stubborn Gryffindork attitude more than you can possibly image,_

_**Blaise J. Zabini**__'_

I shook my head and laughed at his idiocy.

"Who's it from?" Ginny asked from where she sat, eating her porridge.

"Zucchini… I mean Blaise Zabini." I corrected myself. I folded up his letter and rolled my eyes.

Finally I picked up the last letter. The handwriting looked vaguely familiar, but I couldn't figure out where I had seen it before. I undid the fancy, yet odd looking seal and scanned its contents. What I read surprised me more than anything else.

'_Valica,  
I expect my homework to be completed and worthy of an O. If you were not simply boasting like most of your fellow housemates do, and you were serious about wanting to be in my N.E.W.T. class, I suggest you start sharpening up and putting real effort in your work.  
Tell Lupin that he should have got you out of that muggle hell-hole quicker.  
__**Professor Snape.**__  
P.S. I suggest you start studying Galpalott's laws. You don't cover them until 6__th__ year, but given their complicated nature, you may want to start now. Also study antidotes. __See you September 1__st__'_

I reread the short letter again, and then focused on the name.  
Severus Snape had sent me a letter… and it was almost civil despite the cold overtone.

"Who's it from?" Harry asked, seeing my facial expression.

I shook my head. "Just… " I shook my head. "What the he- _heck_ is Galpalott's laws." I corrected the word _hell_, after remembering Mrs. Weasley's reprimanding Ginny this morning. I didn't think she would make me stay home from the Quidditch World Cup, but I was quickly learning that I shouldn't underestimate Molly Weasley.

"They're a set of laws regarding mixed potions and their antidotes that requires you to use alchemy. It was created by the wizard Romuns Galpalott in-" Hermione started lecturing, but I waved my hand to stop her.

"Set of laws regarding potions- complicated. Got it." I said, smiling.

She rolled her eyes and continued eating.

Finally I opened the pouch and peered in curiously. I choked at what I saw. "Um, Harry, can you come here a moment."

Harry peered at me curiously, before nodding. He followed me into the next room. "What is it?"

He was the only one I felt comfortable to show this too, knowing the Weasley's situation. "Look for yourself." I said holding the pouch out for him to look into.

Harry's eyes widened as he looked in the pouch. He grabbed a few of the coins and let them fall through his hands. "There has got to be at least thirty galleons in here! Who's it from?"

"I don't know." I muttered.

"There's a key in here." Harry said, pulling out a small intricate key. "It goes to a Gringott's vault, I've got one like it."

He handed me the pouch back, and grinned. "You have no idea how nice it feels not to be the only one who has a lot of money!"

I rolled my eyes. "Maybe it's not mine. Maybe someone got Buddah mixed up with another owl."

Harry snorted. "I saw Sirius's signature on that other letter… maybe he sent it?"

"If he's got money, he needs to use it to get more meat on his bones… not on me!"

"Valica! Harry!" Mrs. Weasley called from the kitchen.

I closed the pouch, and followed Harry back into the kitchen. I hadn't gotten a chance to sit down and eat breakfast so I grabbed a piece of toast from Harry's plate and sat down next to Ron, across from Harry and the twins.

Mrs. Weasley, however, placed a bowl of porridge in front of me. "Eat up." She commanded firmly. I wondered briefly if she was so firm because I was so skinny.

"Thank you." I murmured softly. There was a small bowl of cinnamon on the table, and I sprinkled some over my porridge, and dug in.  
It was the best bowl of porridge I had even had.

* * *

Once we had finished eating, we got ready to leave. Hermione rushed upstairs to get the overnight bag we were sharing. Harry and Ron shouldered their bags, and I helped Mrs. Weasley wash up the few dishes we had dirtied.

"George, what is that sticking out of your pocket?" Mrs. Weasley asked suddenly.

"Nothing, mum." He muttered, shoving the wrapper further in his pocket.

"George Fabian Weasley!" She shouted.

I was frankly surprised at her use of George's middle name.

A summoning charm from Mrs. Weasley revealed the small wrapped package to be a ton-tongue toffee.

The next five minutes were spent with Mrs. Weasley performing _accio _after _accio_ charm, summoning all types of products from their hiding places in the twins. This was enough to put all three of them in a sour mood and put us behind schedule.

"We best hurry, we don't want to miss our portkey." Mr. Weasley said softly, as if a raised voice would set off his wife in rampage.

"Yes, you better go." She said, sighing. She kissed Mr. Weasley on the cheek and hugged Ron and Harry fiercely. The twins dodged her hugs and walked out without a word, which despite their sour moods, I thought was rather rude. I, for once, kept my mouth quiet though.

Before I walked out the door, however, Mrs. Weasley stopped me and handed me a grey knitted hand bag. "There's a sandwich in there, in case you get hungry, dear. Keep the bag to put your money in."

I looked at her in wonder, and she smiled, "Yes, I know about the money, dear. Remus told me that there was some being sent from," She paused as if trying to remember, "another father figure."

So it had been Sirius that had sent the money…  
Confusion and admiration settled over me at once for Molly Weasley. Here was a lady that had seven children, and had to take to take care of five of them(_Weasley_ children with their anger issues and big mouths) and hardly had any kind of money to her name.  
"Why would you do this all for me… when you hardly even know me?"

She smiled at me sadly, "Because you need to someone to do it for you. You were an innocent child who was put in a bad situation, but somehow you've made it through and toughed it out when you shouldn't have had too. I think you deserve a break."

Emotion clouded my thoughts for the second time this morning. "Thank you." I said, thickly.

She smiled at me, before hesitantly hugging me. I let her. I didn't stiffen, or flinch. Instead I let my cheek rest on her shoulder. The scent of breakfast—porridge, jam, and pancakes—filled my nostrils along with the strong smell of coffee. I felt a sense of love that I had never felt before… or at least for the past eleven years. I couldn't help but wonder if this is what it would have felt like to have a mum.

Finally she stepped back, and ushered me out the door.

I caught up with the rest of the group, and discretely transferred some of the galleons that I had put in Hermione and I's overnight backpack, into this new bag.

"Your mum really is brilliant." I told Ron, clearing my throat.

Ron smiled, "That's just you've never saw her after sneaking out Dad's car…" He shuddered.

"Are we walking to the World Cup?" Harry asked, raising his eyebrows and frowning.

"Of course not!" Arthur said, grinning. "We're simply walking to our portkey that was set up for us."

"What's a portkey?" I whispered to Harry. He grinned and shrugged his shoulders.

"You'll see." Someone said behind me. I turned to see George who was grinning impishly.

"Now I'm really nervous." I muttered and he laughed.

We started walking uphill pretty soon, and even though I was wearing only a t-shirt, and the early morning coolness, I was soon sweating and panting.

I wouldn't have traded it for the world though—walking with the trio, the twins, and without the watchful eyes of the orphanage.

Finally we reached the top of the steep hill, and I paused to let myself rest while Arthur told us to look out for small unnoticeable things such as old boots, tires, or other sorts of trash.

"Over here, Arthur!" Someone shouted. "We've got it!"

"Amos!" Arthur greeted with a smile. I followed his gaze to an older, midaged man with greying brown hair, rectangular spectacles, and a large boastful smile framed by a bushy beard. He was holding up a big brown boot.

We walked towards him, and I noticed the boy standing next to him.  
Coming from me and my 'relationship' with George, this may sound odd—but I don't get crushes. George was the first boy I had liked _ever_. She was the first boy that I thought of as _good-looking_, and the first boy that I ever got butterflies in my stomach from.  
Well actually, Gale gave me weird feelings a few times, but that was because he was 'training' me to defend myself, and he had gone to punch me. But those aren't the same feelings… I don't think so anyway.

Anyway, so it surprised me when I really looked at this boy and thought _wow, he is good looking_.  
Or maybe I was just still tired. Or maybe I was just excited about leaving the orphanage. Either way… he was _fine._

He had wavy dark brown hair that was long enough to fall into his eyes, but not as long as the twins' hair which went past their chin. He had dark brown eyes that were full of kindness and laughter. He smiled sheepishly at us, and I'm pretty sure I heard Ginny catch her breath.  
Katie, Parvarti, and Lavender would have fainted on the spot.

"Okay, I could move on to _him_, anyday." Ginny whispered to me. I chuckled, but was very aware of the twins next to me. I shrugged, "He's alright."

Did I just see George smile from beside me? I wasn't sure because it was gone so fast.

Ginny snorted as we continued to walk their way. Once we were upon them, Amos and Arthur shake hand.

"Are these all your children?" Amos asked, glancing at all us, with his eyes wide.

"Oh no." Arthur laughed, and he waved his hands to motion at us, "All of the redheads are mine, and these three are Ron's friends—Harry, Valica, and Hermione.

"Harry? As in Harry Potter?" Amos asked as he raised his eyebrows. Suddenly an even bigger smile appeared on his face. "Well, good boy, I heard all about your quidditch skills. Imagine how proud I was when my boy Cedric here," He gestured to Cedric who was turning red, "beat the Boy-Who-Lived!"

Cedric groaned, "Dad, I told you that it wasn't a fair game! Harry fell off of his broom because-"

"Now, now, now, Cedric, no need to be humble. The best man stayed on the broom, and I'm sure Harry would agree with that."

I decided right then that I didn't like Amos Diggory.

Hermione nudged my hand, and I realized they were clenched in anger. She smirked, but shook her head at me. I sighed, unclenched my hands and bit my tongue to keep from saying anything.

I _definitely _seen George smile that time.

"Well," Arthur spoke up, trying to calm the awkward air. "We best hurry, the portkey should be leaving in a twenty seconds."

"Okay, everybody put a finger on the boot. One finger will do.  
It was a very hard task, considering there ten people trying fit around this boot, and we all had packs on, but somehow we managed to do so.

"This would be weird if muggles saw us right now." Harry said. I was snuggled in between him and George, and had to laugh.

"Right?" I said with a smile. I was shaking slightly, despite my usual ability to hide my fear. One finger on a boot that was supposed to transport me who-knows-how-far—I was not feeling very secure.

That was before something squeezed my hand though. I looked down to see George's spare hand holding mine gently. I looked up him and smiled. He answered with a huge grin.

Then something interrupted our moment. It felt like something hooked behind me naval, and was spinning me. I clung to George's hand, but I didn't feel like I was going to fall… something as strong as gravity was holding me to the boot. No, it was because, for once I felt completely out of control of the situation, and that scared me.

Suddenly it stopped as quickly as it began, and my feet hit the ground with force. George's hand was wrenched from mine, and I hit something a bit softer than the ground. Something fell on top of me, crushing the air out of me.

I said some pretty colorful words, and the person on top of me laughed. I knew that laugh well.

"Ronald Weasley!" I gasped out, frowning. "You have five seconds to get the hell off of me, or I'm going to give you a bruise dark enough to put the one I gave Malfoy last year to shame!" I paused, "Both of them."

Ron chuckled, and rolled off on me, and I looked down to see that I squished Harry. I copied Ron, and rolled off to look at the blue sky. "That _hurt_."

"I think you just taught me a few words." Fred laughed. I stuck my tongue out at him, proving how mature I really was.

"Are any of you guys hurt?" Arthur asked. The lucky man had remained standing.

"Not physically, but I lost some innocence of mind that I may never regain." Fred said, laying his hand on heart and fake sobbing.

"You're going to lose something else, Weasley, if you don't be quiet." I said, laughing.

"Hard falls make you violent." Harry said, laughing.

I punched him in the arm.

* * *

_**Blaise**_  
Blaise lay, reclined on a hammock, when something fell on him, making the air _whoosh_ out of him, and fall off the hammock onto the ground.

He growled, grabbed his wand, and jumped up—only to find himself face-to-face with Astoria Greengrass.

"Astoria?" He asked confused. He was taking deep breathes, trying to get the air back in his lungs. "What are you doing at the Quidditch World Cup, I thought you were supposed to be in America with your parents?"

She rolled her eyes, and settled on the hammock. Somehow, even sitting on a hammock, she managed to pull off a lady-like position—her legs crossed, hands folded, and straightened posture.  
"I much rather prefer Quidditch than sitting at dinner table listening to my father flatter his American associates, and then finding my mum in bed with one of those associates later."

Blaise rubbed the sleep from his eyes, and pocketed his wand. He settled himself on the ground next to the hammock. "So they just let you skip it?"

Astoria cast her eyes away, "Not exactly…" She murmured.

"Well?" Blaise prompted.

She hesitated for so long that Blaise doubted for a moment that she would answer. Finally, she spoke up, "Something's happening Blaise…"

He didn't say anything, and she continued. "Something is going to happen tonight. I overheard my parents talking about…" She stopped, and Blaise sat up a little straighter.

"About what, Astoria?" She didn't answer, and he put his hand on her arm. "Tori?"

She scrunched her nose at her nickname, but finally sighed. "They said it was time that they reminded the mudbloods who was really the superior race. And to remind the other wizards that were here that we shouldn't be the ones sneaking around to see the World Cup… that muggles should be the ones hiding. They said they were going to contact Lucius and some of their former… colleagues."

"So there trying to cause an uprising?" Blaise asked, confused. "Why now, though? There's been three World Cups since He-Who-Should-Not-Be-Named was defeated, why would the Death Eaters choose _now_ to step up?"

Astoria rubbed her arms, like she was suddenly cold. "Are you telling me you don't sense it?"

"Sense… what?"

She cleared her throat and shook her head, "It must be a death-eater's child sense." She looked at him, and for a moment Blaise saw the absolute fear in Astoria's eyes, before it was once again covered in the nonchalant, cold expression that covered every Slytherin-raised wizard. "I think he's back… or coming back. I think the death eaters know that too."

Blaise's blood went cold, and he shook his head. "That's crazy talk. He's gone—remember? That's why Potter is all special… the _one_ good thing that came from his existence."

"Better be careful saying that aloud now, Blaise." Astoria whispered.

Silence overcame them, and Astoria laid back down on the hammock that hung outside of Blaise's tent. His mum wasn't with him, she hated Quidditch. So he was here with Darius, who had excused himself.

"Blaise?" Astoria whispered softly.

He couldn't see her face, but he heard the restrained emotion in her voice. _"_Yeah?"

"I don't want to marry Draco."

Blaise blinked a few times. _Where the hell did that come from_? "Oh?"

"Oh." She repeated, sighing.

Blaise twiddled his thumbs, thinking. He had grown up around all of the Slytherin families—Parkinsons', Notts, Greengrasses—but he had never spent much time with Astoria before this year.  
To be honest, the main reason for this was not that he had never had a chance to talk to her, or that he was just a loner. The real reason was that her older sister Daphne had always fawned over him, much to Blaise's mum's pleasure. His mum had been arranging their marriage since before he had started Hogwarts. This—on top of the fact that Daphne was one of those annoying, gossipy, never-shuts-the-heck-up girlie girls—had made her Blaise's not-so-fave-friend. As a result, he avoided her at most every gathering, which resulted in his avoiding her younger sister.  
This last Hogwarts year however had resulted in Daphne disgust over his tarnished reputation. Come to find out, Astoria resented her sister almost as much as he did, and in order to spite her, decided to look past Blaise's betrayal as long as he made it easy, and helped him as much as she could without openly speaking out against her parents or house.

He had more in common with her than any person he knew. They both preferred only themselves for company. They both resented their parents—though for different reasons. Neither one of them had many friends within their lifestyle, simply because they didn't want any. On top of these facts, they were both drop dead gorgeous—this made them good company for one another.

"Why wouldn't you want to marry Draco?" Blaise finally asked. "Doesn't seem like a horrible choice, given the fact that you could have ended up with a lot of worse options. For example, there is Vincent, or Gregory… or that rogue Blaise Zabini." He grinned at her when she looked at him.

A smirk graced her dark lips for a moment but disappeared. She sat up in the hammock, and drew her legs up to her side. "What do all those names have in common though?"

Blaise thought for a few moments, before shrugging. "You've got me there. I can't think of anything where I fall in the same category as Vincent Crabbe and Gregory Goyle."

Astoria sighed, "All have parents that are death eaters."

"My mum is not a death eater! And I never even knew my dad, let alone know if he's a death eater or not."

"Okay, fine," She said, rolling her eyes, "Maybe your mum is not a death eater, but it's only because she's not good enough at dueling to be a death eater. She still funds them. She still supports them."

Blaise sighed. The insults towards his mother didn't bother him—especially since they were true.  
"Okay… so our parents are death-eaters or something similar. But if I remember correctly, so are both of your parents."

"Exactly." She hissed. "I've had to grow up my whole life under death eaters. I don't want anything to do with this anymore! And we both know that Draco is destined to turn out like his father. He's too eager to make his father proud! The moment You-Know-Who will brand him with the dark mark, Draco will take it!"

Blaise glared at her slightly, "Draco only wants that because his father wants him too. I can't really blame him, knowing how harsh his father is. His dad makes your parents look like weaklings. And Draco wants power and respect—all of us do. Draco has been raised with his dad telling him that the only way to gain such power is under You-Know-Who, and intimidation. He just thinks this is what he wants, but when it comes down to it-"

Astoria waved a hand to cut him off. "Enough! Just because you and Draco are all buddy-buddy again, doesn't mean you have to go getting all defensive of him." She sighed, "I know Draco isn't a bad person. But he's blind. He only sees what he wants to see." She rubbed her temples, "Guys are told that the only way to get power is by intimidation. You know my parents tell me? The only way for us girls to get power is how much we please our husband because we rely on them for any power."  
"I don't want to rely on anyone anymore. I've had to deal with being under my parent's thumb for my whole life, and I will not rely on any other person with the mindset that I am at their mercy."

Blaise breathed, "Draco's not like that. If you let him do what he wants, he'll give you anything and everything you want. He'll let you do whatever your heart desires."

"He'll _give _me anything. He'll _let_ me do what I want. I don't want that!" She clamped her eyes shut. "I'm not asking for much. I don't care about power or reputation. I don't care for He-Who-Shall-Not-Be-Named, but I don't care enough to go against him. I don't crave wealth like my parents do. I just want to be left alone. I don't want anything to do with any of them." She stopped rubbing her temples and covered her face with her hands, groaning. "I'm not honorable like you are Blaise. I'm not against blood purity because I care for mudbloods. To be honest, I wouldn't care if You-Know-Who got his way or not… I just don't want to be a part of this anymore. I want to go someplace where no one owns me… where no one can find me."

When she drew her hands away, Blaise was shocked to see tears of frustration falling down her pale cheeks. Despite the few times he had succeeded in making her laugh since they became friends, he had never actually witnessed her display such emotion. She had always come across as that perfect Slytherin daughter that was always obedient and quiet, almost like a younger Narcissa Malfoy with dark hair. Only now did he see how truly different she was.

Blaise stood up and sat next to her, causing the hammock to become slightly unbalanced. Hesitantly he put his arm around her and hugged her. He felt her stiffen, as if she had never been comforted before. Maybe she hadn't. Slowly, she relaxed and let her head rest against his shoulder for a few moments.  
"I'm sorry for putting you in this position." She said softly after a few moments, and she drew back. "I should have had a better hold on my emotions."

Blaise let his arms fall back to his sides. "Don't apologize for stupid things like that, Tori." He smirked, "You stuck with me this past year and I did a lot worse things that just shedding a few light tears."

She smirked back, "That is very true." She sighed and looked at her shoes. "Do you mind doing me a favor?" When he shook his head, her smirked widened slightly. "Do _not_ marry my sister. She doesn't deserve you."

He rolled his eyes, "Well no duh, Astoria. Jeez, how stupid do you think I am? Maybe you do put me in the same category as Vincent and Gregory if you think I would even consider marrying your sister."

She laughed quietly and shook her head, causing some of her dark curls to fall out of the neat bun it had been in.  
"Come on," He said, standing up and offering his hand. "I'll walk you back to your tent, and then you can brag to your sister that I've getting my reputation pretty soon, and that I still don't like her."

* * *

**_Valica_**

Here's a little riddle for you;  
How many wizards does it take to put up a tent that muggle way?  
The answer is three. Well four, if you want to count Mr. Weasley, but he was more of a small burden than any real help considering he was amazed by how the tent stayed up without magic and felt the urge to constantly poke at it. The twins and Ron, and Ginny went to pick up some firewood from nearby. Hermione, Harry, and I finally managed to figure out the right way to set it up(or something similar) because finally it didn't fall over, and it set up straight. I was quite pleased with our work considering the three of us had never been one to be camp, and the only direction that came with it were in Spanish.

Looking the small tent, I briefly wondered how Arthur was planning on eleven people sleeping there. I could already feel my claustrophobia acting up. Harry seemed to be thinking the same thing.  
Arthur crawled inside the tent, "May be a little cramped, but it'll have to do."

I snorted and Harry rolled his eyes, but we followed him inside. Then I gasped. "Is that a kitchen?"

"Yes… a rather small one at that." Arthur said, frowning slightly.

I turned around, and scanned the whole tent. There was a sitting area, a small kitchen, a few bunk beds, and a separate door which Arthur said lead to another set of bunks for us girls.

"If I would have known this is what camping was like…" Harry muttered.

* * *

I was quickly discovering that I didn't like Ministry officials. Other than Arthur Weasley, I was noticing that every ministry official that I talked to or laid eyes on gave me a bad feeling. For example, the first time I had met Lucius Malfoy, I got a bad aura off the guy.  
Then there was Percy who was extremely snobby and most of the time had his head stuck up his…  
Then there was Ludo Bagman, who reminded me of an overgrown child. I was never good at tolerating stupidity. Or tolerating anything for that matter. That must be one of the reasons I was put in Gryffindor—the house of bravery and bad attitudes, instead of Hufflepuff—house of those tolerant, patient people.  
Then there was Bartemius Crouch who was simply _too_ neat for me to like him. His hair was parted in a perfectly straight line. His mustache was perfectly even. He had perfect manners, and his shoes were polished. I desperately wanted to dump a jar of mud on his head just to see if he would start twitching or spontaneously combust. I understood why Percy looked up to this man so much given the fact that Percy was a perfectionist and… well, you know… weird… crazy… out-of-his-mind.  
All of the above.

When they had all left, we finally got ready to head towards the stadium. I slipped on the black cloak I had brought with me and slipped at least a dozen galleons into the knitted purse, before following the others into the woods.

On the way to the stadium we passed quite a few vendors who were selling all sorts of souvenirs. Mr. Weasley told us to look around for a little bit, but I think it was mainly because he saw something he liked. I let myself look around a little bit, when something caught my eye. It was a medium-sized leather photo-album that looked very similar to the one I had at the Weasleys' home in my Pandora's Box.  
I grabbed the album, and then a small wizarding camera and purchased them both.

Finally we were back on our way to the stadium. Harry had purchased me a pair of omnioculars, which were basically binoculars that could play things in slow motion, pause, and play things over again. I didn't argue though, because Ron had a pair and I knew that if I started about money, it would just make Ron feel bad. Harry just grinned and I thanked him and promised to get him a special Christmas present.

Mr. Weasley's seats were at the very top of the stadium which held up to one hundred thousand wizards… my legs were aching by the time we reached our seats.

"If we have to walk anywhere else, you might have to carry me." I warned Harry. "I'm still weak from malnourishment."

He laughed and shook his head. "I'll drag you by your feet first."

I winced, "How rude."

I sat at the edge, with George on my other side. Looking down at the large amount of wizards below us, I began to feel slightly nervous. I had had plenty of bad luck with Quidditch matches in the past, which definitely made me nervous. George grinned at me as if sensing my discomfort, and I stuck my tongue out at him.

"Tongues in your mouth, you two." Fred warned with a wink. George elbowed him in the side, and I covered my face with my hands.

"Fredrick Weasley, you will be the death of me!" I groaned. "I can just see my tombstone—died from awkwardness at the hands of an annoying red-head'.

"I may be annoying, but I'm still cute." He taunted, winking at me.

"I'm cuter." I shot back.

We were about to get into it when a flash of blonde caught my eye. Very few people had hair that blonde. The only one I had actually ever met with such blonde hair was…  
Draco Malfoy and I locked eyes at the exact same time.

"How'd you afford tickets for the top box, Weasley's? Sell your house… or whatever you call that thing." Draco sneered.

I took in how much he had changed this past summer. His hair was combed, but not straight back like it had been last year. There was even a piece in the front that fell into his face. This shocked me slightly considering that every time I saw Malfoy, every hair was in place, and there wasn't any speck of dirt in sight. He was too particular about his appearance to leave hair in his face.

His eyes darted back to mine, when his eyes widened slightly, "_Quem?_"

It must have been the hair. I clenched my hands. "That's _Lupin_ now."

His mouth dropped open, "Oh, is it?"

"It is." I said, firmly.

"Sharing the last name of a half-breed… that sounds about right for you. So that makes you worse than a mudblood, correct?" Draco asked nonchalantly, raising his eyebrows.

My vision tinted red with anger, and it took everything within me to remain seated. "If you wish to insult me, Malfoy, I beg of you to continue, but it would not be in your best interest to go insulting my father."

"Father?" He asked, raising his eyebrows at me. "So you have two now?"

"Go play with yourself, Malfoy." George growled, "Stop talking rubbish."

Malfoy ignored him, his eyes still glued to mine. "How many of your special friends know?" He paused, "I'm guessing Blaise doesn't."

"Your guess is wrong. Blaise is completely aware. So does Harry, as a matter of fact. But I stick with my friends when they're in trouble, and they do the same for me. Not that you would know anything about, seeing that you'll leave a friend to get beat up just because you're a coward."

His eyes flashed dangerously, "Listen here you little…"

George stood up. I appreciated his protectiveness, but if there was anyone I had proven that I could handle, it was Draco Malfoy. Those facial bruises he was sporting for a major part of last year… yeah, guess who caused those.  
_THIS GIRL._

"Let it go, George. Draco just can't take what he dishes out." I said, frowning.

"Draco, I don't believe I've met your friends before."  
I looked to see a taller man with pointed features, and cool grey eyes. He had long, smooth, combed back platinum hair that was several inches longer than even the twins. His resemblance to Draco was uncanny. This must have been the Lucius Malfoy I had heard about from Harry—the one that gave Ginny the diary her first year that was possessed by Tom Riddle.  
On his other side was a short, plump man with scraggly grey hair.

Lucius glanced at George, "May I guess? You're a Weasley? You look _just _like your… father." His words and tones weren't offensive, but by the mocking look in his eyes, and the way he looked down his nose at George, he might of as well said; _May I guess? You're a speck of dirt on the bottom of my shoe. You look just like that slightly larger speck of dirt on my shoe._

George shocked me by grinning hugely, "Except that I'm not going bald. But thanks."

The man next to Lucius laughed loudly, "Nice sense of humor, you've got there boy."

Lucius's jaw twitched, and he looked at me, "And this is?"

"Valica Quem." Draco said quietly.

"Lupin." I corrected.

"Whatever." Draco muttered through his teeth.

"Quem, you say?" Lucius asked, raising his eyebrows. "As in-"

"Stephanie Quem." I said, taking a deep breathe.

His eyes narrowed, "Interesting. And your father?"

"Remus Lupin." I said, pride leaking into my voice. I loved being able to give people that answer now. Used to it would have been, 'I don't know, he left before I was born', but now… I could give a name of a living and very real person… and he wasn't even a mass-murderer! Neither one of my dads were.

"Interesting…" He repeated.

We were interrupted by Percy's exclamation when he saw the short, plump man that turned out to be Minister of Magic.

I couldn't help but wonder if this man was going to be _another_ government official that I didn't like.

* * *

By the time we made it back to the tent that night, almost every part of body hurt.  
My stomach hurt from laughing so hard this evening—especially from Harry and Ron's performance for the veela, and from the twins and I entertaining ourselves with my omnioculars and my new camera that automatically printed the pictures out.  
My feet hurt from all the walking I had done today, plus going up and down the stairs to the top box.  
My throat hurt from cheering Ireland on, and then screaming when they won.  
My face hurt from grinning.

I had never been so happy about pain in my life. I don't ever remember feeling this good.

We were all on some sort of natural sugar-high from the victory. We all laughed easier and harder. I found myself becoming fond of Mr. Weasley in an uncle sort of way. He was very child-like at times, and if you looked back his age and kind-honest demeanor, you could sometimes see a deep sense of humor, much like Fred and George's.

Loud music was playing in the tents around us, that were mostly Irish tunes. The sounds of clanking glasses and loud guffaws also joined in, and I was thankful that there hadn't been this much alcohol at the Quidditch finals.  
The thought of a drunk Fred and George made me laugh.  
The tent had come with a record player, and Arthur found a few records under one of the bunks and allowed for us to put them on.

"What are laughing about?" George asked from behind me.

"Nothing…" I said, shaking my head, chuckling.

"That's not fair." George whined childishly. I laughed at the pout in his voice.

"I was thinking about what you and Fred would be like in a state of intoxication." I admitted, grinning sheepishly. "Considering you guys are already naturally…"

"Naturally what?" He asked, cocking his eyebrow, and turning me around so that I had to look at him.

I looked up and thought about it for a few moments. "You two are naturally… enthusiastic."

"I like to think of it as entertaining." He teased.

"It's enthusiastic, or delirious. Choose between those two." I quipped.

He stuck his tongue out his at me, and I glared playfully. "Fred said to keep your tongue in your mouth."

"Since when do I listen to Fred?" George asked, a slightly flirtatious gleam in his eye.

I couldn't help the blush that lit my cheeks. I looked at my shoes, and for once, I couldn't think of a proper comeback.

"So, the quick come-back Valica Quem has nothing to say for once?" He asked, grinning down at me.

Looking up at him, I once again noticed just how tall was compared to me. "It's Lupin, thank you." I said quietly, smirking.

"There's the comeback." He grinned. He hesitated before glancing at his shoes and then back at me. "Listen, Val… I kind of want to tell you something that I'm pretty sure you already know, but I don't really think you've ever heard it from me."

I waited patiently, with a sense that this would not be a good time for a comeback.

He took a deep breathe, "I know I acted like a bit of git last year about some things, but I only did it because I really do care about you Val… more than just a friend. I have for quite a long time actually."

There was no blush on my face this time, and instead a small, content smile crossed my face.

"So that Gryffindor you had a crush on… that wasn't really Fred, right? You were just having a laugh, correct?"

I laughed, "Well, it sure did take you long enough."

He laughed, before grinning like an evil childish imp. "S_oooooo_," he started, "Wanna go out with me?"

Okay, laugh all you want, but I had never done this kind of thing before, so my response to this question was, "When you say go out..."

He groaned and laughed, "You are not going to make this easy on me, are you?" He shook his head. "I mean, Valica Quem… Lupin… _whatever_, will you be my girlfriend?"

"Oh… well then yeah, that sounds great to me." I laughed, blushing slightly at my stupidity.

And then he kissed me, and that feeling disappeared.

Why couldn't things always go this easy?  
Because as Hermione put it earlier—my luck sucks.

* * *

**Author's Note:  
So not only have I updated within a week of my last update, but this is also the longest chapter I have ever done for any of my stories on . Normally they are about 9-11 pages, but this chapter was 20 one microsoft works.  
I'm now working on my CharliexOC one, and my CedricxOC/DracoxOC  
Let me know which one of those you guys are more excited about!  
And what do you guys think of Astoria's character?**

** Also, if you guys want to request one-shot scenes of random pairs(as long as their realistic) or even if you guys request certain scenes of Valica's mum, I would be happy to do them! Gives me some stuff to do when I'm brainstorming or suffering writer's block for Valica.**

** Review Responses-  
Superkiran**- Your answer has been noted, and I am working on it! If you ever got a chance to read my story 'A Feeling' that I had up for a few weeks, it's basically the same character and same situation, it's just being revised and rewrote.

**Guest**- Yeah, I've been having some crap relationship problems too. I just come home and take it all out on Valica... that's probably why she has such anger issues. I do hope it gets better for you. And at least George proves that there are some good guys out there(that's probably how you know he's fake) ;D Hope Valica continues to cheer you up.

**xXMizz Alec VolturiXx**- I'm working on it! I promise! :D Hope you enjoyed this chapter!

**HPFan101**- I actually really love writing from Blaise's point of view. I've always liked seeing purebloods from both sides, and Blaise is my perfect like middle man :D There will some more coming up, but probably not as many once they are back in Hogwarts, because with the TwiWizard Tournament, and Draco, and THAT drama. Mwahaha. And I check everyday for reviews! I wish you had an account on here so I could bother you randomly for advice! But since you don't, you just need to poor everything into your review! :DD

* * *

**Read..Review..Stay healthy(I've got the flu... it sucks.))  
~Nic**


	8. Enemies and Expectations

"Valica, get up!"

My eyes stung from repressed tears, as I opened them at the sound of Harry's frantic voice. I hated that reoccurring nightmare.

"Get up, something's going on…" He said. His glasses were cricked on his face, and his hair was even messier than usual given the fact that he must have just awoke.

"Wha'?" I grumbled, frowning.

"I _don't know_." He hissed, "But Mr. Weasley said it's bad."

Realizing the urgency of what was going on, I pushed myself out of bed as fast as I had the morning Mathilda and her goonies had jumped on me.  
I was wearing my sweatpants from the orphanage, and a plain black t-shirt given since all I was planning to do was sleep in them. My hair must have been sticking out in all directions, similar to Harry's. My eyes were most likely blood-shot from my lack of sleep and frequent nightmares.

I slipped on my old tennis shoes with holes worn in the toes, just because I could slip them on without having to worry about tying them, and I thought they looked nice with the rest of my outfit.  
(That was sarcasm)

"Wake Hermione and Ginny up." Harry instructed me. I nodded, and knelt down next to Ginny, given she would most likely be the more complicated. I grabbed one of the pillows off of my bed and tossed it at Hermione's sleeping figure.

"Ow…" She muttered sleepily, "What's going on?"

"Not sure. Neither is Harry. Most likely bad, though, so get up."

I frowned at Ginny's sleeping figure. How was I supposed to wake her up?

"Ginevra Weasley, unless you want to exit this room looking like a sopping wet, frizzy, hissing cat, I suggest you get up _now._"

Ginny's eyes flew open, and Hermione snorted from where she sat half-awake on her bed. "So that's how you do it."

We were distracted by the sounds of screaming outside. Ginny bolted up, scaring the daylights out of me, and causing me to fall flat on my bum.

None of us, including Ginny, took the time to get properly dressed. I just grabbed my robe and followed the three of them outside the tent. The sight in front of me made my stomach queasy.

Tents were on fire in the distance, and people were running around in confusion and horror. In the middle of the tents were a dozens of figures in black cloaks reminding me too much of the nameless cloaked figure that appeared in my dreams as my mum's murderer. Suspended in the air above the cloaked figures were the man I recognized as the muggle who told us where our tent was, a woman who I guessed to be his wife, and two children. The oldest child was a girl around my age. The younger was a boy, no older then maybe three or four years. The cloaked figures levitated the boy away from his family and began spinning him in the air like a top. The girl screamed in horror but they must have set a silencing charm on her, because the sound cut off, but the girl's mouth remained open in a silent scream with tears streaming down her face. The mum was trying to reach out to help her little boy, but the spell kept her immobile in the air.

I knew what it was like to have to stand by and listen to someone get murdered.  
But _watching_ your three-year old son be tortured in front of your eyes…  
That was cruelty on a whole new level.

Bile rose in my throat, and my stomach curdled. "W-We've got to do something? Who are they?"

"Death Eaters." Arthur murmured. It suddenly dawned on me where I heard that name before.

"What are death eaters?" Harry asked.

"Voldemort's followers." I explained quietly.

For a moment, Harry stopped breathing.

"They're heading this way. Get out of here. Go to the woods, stay together. Don't leave the woods until I get back!"

"Where are Charlie and Bill?" Fred questioned. I hadn't noticed him and George in the shadows of the tent.

"They're already out there with the aurors. I need to help them, but I want you guys safe. Now go!"

I had never been one to run from a fight… and every ounce of Gryffindor bravery within me was screaming for me not to leave behind that innocent little boy.

"Valica, we wouldn't be any help. Let's go!" Hermione said, tugging my arm. "You just perfected your flipping levitation charm, how do you expect to stop them?"

It was harsh, but true. Wincing slightly at the blow to my pride, I let her and Harry pull me towards the woods. "Fists work too…" I muttered.

We finally made it in the safety of the woods, but we were only met by hundreds of other people that had been camping around here that had had the same idea. I gripped Hermione's hand to make sure I wouldn't lose her.

I turned back to see George, but he shook his head. "Keep going, we'll keep up."

I turned back forward and pushed through the crowds. I saw many faces, but I was too mad to process anything. My mind kept reeling back to the boy. He had probably been crying out for his parents to help him, but help wasn't coming. He was too young to understand any of this going around him… why this was happening to him and his family, or why no one was helping him.  
Then the girl's pleading face. It might have almost been worse for her considering a fact that she only remained ignorant to half of what was going on. She might not have understood in magic and blood purity, but she understand that these people were torturing her family for no reason. She knew how helpless she really was. She knew that no one was going to save them. She was up there watching someone she loved get hurt, and screaming in pain, yet she was absolutely powerless and unable to stop them.

The wave of anger hit me like a tsunami. My wand let loose a few sparks and was humming as if waiting for me to unleash some of my anger through it.

Trapped in my own thoughts, I hadn't been paying much attention to my surroundings. Suddenly something caught my foot and I fell to ground, my hand falling from Hermione's. I looked up but people were pushing, trying to get their families as deep in the woods and away from the Death Eaters as possible.

I looked behind me, searching for a glance of the twin's tall red heads above the crowd. I saw a brief flash of red hair, and stood up. Glancing around for a final glance of Hermione or any of my other friends, but it was futile. I doubted Hermione had even noticed, given all the commotion. Someone shoved me in a hurry to get away from the commotion and I grabbed a tree limb to keep myself from sprawling on the ground. I had to keep moving.

I headed in the direction I had seen the flash of red hair, and pushed my way through several people. I tried to keep my eyes straight ahead, and away from the flashes of green that were coming from where the death eaters had been.

Finally I broke through the blunt of the crowd and stopped long enough to catch my breath. The trio and the twins were nowhere to be found. Knowing Harry, they had probably delved into the woods as deep as it would take them. I, on the other hand, remained adjacent to campsite. I had to be able to see the outcome of the events—I wanted to make sure those children made it out okay.

The sound of a branch breaking behind me, and I jumped about a mile high. Spinning around, I peered into the darkness of the trees for any sign of movement. I saw nothing.

"Get over yourself, Valica." I muttered, frowning. I didn't care how different the Wizard World made me, I would _not_ let myself become afraid of the dark like some two year old.

At the sound of leaves crunching, my stomach flip flopped.  
Flashbacks of the night at Hogwarts when I had been lost in the Dark Forest, searching in vain for Harry and Hermione, swam before my eyes. I remembered the boggart that had transformed into five or six different things, before the dementors had come.

I considered attempting a patronus charm, but I hesitated.  
Magic outside of Hogwarts was strictly forbidden. Harry had gotten away with it twice—once with a warning, and once because the Minister of Magic was just relieved Harry hadn't been slaughtered by Sirius Black.  
Performing a charm as skilled as a patronus charm would definitely raise some red flags in the ministry, and the last thing I needed was to be expelled from Hogwarts. Plus, the last patronus I had made had been conjured subconsciously, according to Dumbledore, and I wasn't sure if I would be able to do one now.

"Dementors are in Azkaban." I told the darkness around me, as if it would suddenly realize its mistake and disperse. "The only enemies out in the dark tonight are death eaters, and stupid hallucinations conjured up by my fears."

Thank goodness, the darkness didn't correct me.

I turned back around to look back towards to the death eaters.

"So which category do I fall under; Death Eater, or a hallucination?"

I whirled around at the sound of a voice. Leaning against a tree, without a care in the world, was none other than the sleazebag himself, the one and only, Draco flipping Malfoy. His hair still neatly combed of to the side, and his pale lips were twisted in the Slytherin trademark smirk. His grey eyes danced with amusement, and other colder emotions that were hidden behind a carefully constructed façade.  
"Are you officially declaring yourself as one of my enemies?" I asked him, frowning.

He laughed without humor, "Did you expect anything else?"

I looked him over once, taking in his fashionably tailored cloak with dark green lining. "I suppose I shouldn't. If what I'm seeing is true than I believe you have finally reached the expectations everyone has laid out for you. Congratulations Malfoy, I am officially convinced you are a heartless reptile as horrible as everyone makes your father out to be."

"If what you see is true?" He asked, raising one eyebrow. He remained relaxed against a tree, and the only way I knew that what I had said upset him was the flash of anger in his eyes. "Please, Valica, what do you see in me that has convinced you that I am as cold blooded as you think?"

I narrowed my eyes, suspiciously, "You're hair is combed. You put on socks and shoes. And you're wearing very expensive attire that you were not wearing at the game, and I highly doubt you use them as pajamas. You seemed to have had plenty of time to get ready, which is very unlikely for someone who woke up in a state of panic. So you must have known about the attack. No doubt because you father is out there with them."

He narrowed his eyes at me, "Well, so there is such thing as a Gryffindor with a brain."

"You should have already known that, given the fact that Hermione beats you in every class." I snapped. A scream filled the air, and I spun around away from Draco to see the little boy fall towards the ground as the spell that had been levitating him was released. I cringed, and waited for him to hit the ground, but last minute he slowed. A young woman with bright pink hair, stepped out of the crowd and grabbed him.

I turned back to Draco who was watching the scene with boredom.

I couldn't help but feel shocked. I would be the first to tell anyone that Draco Malfoy was a ginormous git with a large ego, and an ugly personality. However, there had been a few occasions where I had seen a glimmer of something more human. I had never imagined him as this cruel.

"You're okay with this?" I asked, incredulously.

"Why shouldn't I be?" He asked, "There just muggles."

"So what? They're living people! They feel pain and fear just like anybody else!"

He glared at me, "Don't be foolish, Valica. They deserve to put in their place. It's their kind that forces us to hide our existence!"

"That little boy isn't what forces us to hide! We hide to avoid trouble with the muggles. They don't understand magic! That family of muggles has no idea what is going on. All they know is that they were yanked out of bed and being tortured. What type of lesson is that?"

He shook his head at me, as if not wanting to believe my words.

"Draco," I pleaded in a whisper, trying to reach out to any part of him that was willing to listen. "They might not have magic like we do, but they have hearts. They feel, and think, and breathe just like the two of us. They have families, and friends. They're us without magic."

His eyes snapped to mine. For a brief moment I thought I saw him hesitate, but it was gone. "They were made without magic for a reason! We were _made_ to be superior to them. What is the point of their existence if it's not that?"

I stopped to think for a moment, "Maybe to prove to us that there is a life without magic."

Draco scoffed, "Please. Magic makes everything easier. It's here for a reason."

"The easy way isn't always the best way." I said quietly.

He looked out back to the death eaters and then back to me. "Why are you scolding _me? _I'm not the one out there torturing muggles."

_Yet._ I thought in my head, but I didn't dare say that aloud. I sighed, "Maybe I just wanted to try to make you see things from my point of view. And I made the mistake last year of judging someone too quickly because of what everyone else told me." I said, thinking of Sirius. "I'm not going to make that mistake again. For now on I'm going to judge you from what I see. So far, I think you're an arse with some major character flaws. But everyone expects you to be an evil death eater… I disagree."

He frowned at me, "Why would I care about your expectations?"

"You shouldn't." I said, shrugging. "You asked me a question and I answered it. I just figured it might be refreshing for you to know that for once, I'm not going to end this conversation with my fist in your face."

He narrowed his eyes, but I thought a small smile appear briefly on his lips.  
Finally he looked me over, taking in my large sweats, holey t-shirt, worn out sneakers, and wild hair.  
"I've met hags that looked better than you do right now."

"You remember those character flaws I mentioned?" I muttered. He smirked at me, before it dropped quickly. It was too late though. His smirk had lacked the usual cold, taunting expression. It had actually had genuine humor in it. That minor difference in itself was able to make a small amount of hope sprout within me, that maybe I had gotten to Draco Malfoy at least a tad bit.

I turned back towards the camp site, and was relieved to see that most of the fire had been put out.

Suddenly screams filled the air again, and I stumbled backwards in surprise. I wasn't aware that Draco Malfoy had come up so close behind me and when I turned around, my nose brushed against his cloak. I stepped back in surprise.

He looked down at me, and rolled his eyes.

"Personal bubble, Malfoy," I growled. "Ever heard of it?"

He pondered that for a moment. "No, I can't say that I have. It must be a blood-traitor saying."

I frowned at him, but with a roll of the eyes, I let it go. Being called a blood-traitor didn't bother me that much, given my lack of concern with blood purity as a whole.

"What caused everyone to scream?" I asked, peering at the camp to see what could have caused such alarm. Ironically, everything seemed to calmed down even more since the screams. The death eaters had disapparated, and all the fires were now out. I saw a few witches in medical uniforms tending to the muggles who seemed to be in shock. The mother was holding her son to her who was shuddering and crying.

"Well, this is just a guess, but it could be that." Draco said sarcastically, pointing at something above us.

I peered through the branches of the forest, and made out a glowing symbol in the sky that looked like a skull with a snake coming out of its mouth.

"What is that?" I whispered.

Draco stared up at it, his face blank. "The Dark Mark—the symbol of He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named."

"It fits…" I muttered. "Creepy, and blunt."

Draco snorted. "That would be a slight understatement."

"Guess it's depends on the point of view." I suggested. He paused before shrugging.

"I bet Potter just wet his pants." He said, smirking. I glared at him for that, but he ignored me.  
Reluctantly, I let him get by with it. He had allowed me to lecture him about his blood-purity beliefs, and he didn't even hex me for it. I figured defending Harry might be going a tad too far.  
Yes, I had noticed how odd this was—Draco and I actually being civil to each other instead of at each other's throats. I tried not to pay much attention to this fact though.

"So your dad's a half-breed?" Draco asked me.

I turned to glare at him. "Do you really want to lecture me about _my_ father, Malfoy? Think carefully before continuing."

He watched me carefully before rolling his eyes. "Whatever."

_Good call._

Shouts from further in the woods drew my attention. I vaguely heard Arthur's voice yelling; 'Lower your wands, that's my son!'

Fear spiked my heart, and I turned to Draco, but he cut me off with a wave of the hand.  
"Yeah, yeah, yeah, your trio awaits you."

I smirked, "It was nice talking to you without wanting to kill you, Draco."

He hesitated before nodding, "It was nice ending a conversation without some sort of bruise on me."

I chuckled, before awkwardly turning and making my way away from him. But, of course, my clumsiness would not permit me to leave Draco Malfoy without looking like an idiot first. As a result, my toe found a gnarled tree root, I yelped, and I fell towards the ground.

I caught myself with my hands before my face had a chance to hit the ground.

Snarky, annoying laughter came from behind me.  
"Have a nice trip?" He asked between fits.

"Real original, Malfoy, because I've never heard that one before." I growled, grumpily.

I went to push myself up, when all of the sudden something grabbed my arm and pulled me up.

Draco Malfoy seemed almost as surprised as I did when he helped me up. He searched my face like the reason for his sudden chivalry would be plastered there… but of course it wasn't. He released my arm quickly and let his hand fall back to his side.

"Thanks." I said quietly.

"At least I didn't have to break your fall this time." He muttered. He attempted to make it sound cool and harsh, but his confusion made it futile.

I nodded and gave him a small smile, but he turned his back on me. "Go kiss Potter's arse, Quem."

"Lupin." I corrected.

"Whatever."

* * *

I managed to find the trio, thanks to the sound of raised voices. Finally I made it to the spot right under the Dark Mark. Of course, my best friends would be located there.

I tried to approach quietly, so as not to bring any attention to myself, but the moment Ron's eyes fell on me, he elbowed Harry and pointed. Harry followed the direction of his finger, but so did every other s person in the area, including several ministry officials that were present.

"Valica!" Arthur breathed, relieved. "We were worried sick…"

"You let go of my hand!" Hermione shouted, near hysterics.

"I tripped…" I muttered sheepishly. "Sorry."

I let myself survey the scene. Harry, Ron and Hermione stood, surrounded my fancy look officials, excluding Arthur who looked tired and dejected from his lack of sleep prior to this night's episode.

"None of this explains who conjured the dark mark!" Crouch demanded, before pointing at Harry. "It was _that_ boy's wand who was found at the scene of the crime, and the last spell the wand performed was-"

"Why would Harry conjure the Dark Mark when he is the one that vanquished You-Know-Who?" Arthur growled, anger simmering in his eyes.

"I noticed my wand was missing when we first started running…" Harry defended himself. "And the three of us heard a noise from over there in the bushes. It sounded like a person breathing. Maybe they performed the spell."

Amos Diggory stepped out from the group and made his way to the bushes Harry had been gesturing to. "What are _you _doing here?" He asked the bush in disgust. Or at least I thought it was a bush, until Amos stepped back, revealing the house elf I seen before at the Quidditch Match.

"Winky?" Hermione asked, confused.

"Winky, did you conjure the dark mark?" Arthur asked gently.

"N-no sir, I d-did not, sir. Winky just w-wanted to hide from the b-bad men." The house elf sobbed, big watery tears leaking out from the corner of her tennis ball-sized eyes.

"I thought I told you to stay at the tent!" Crouch growled, and Winky cringed.

"W-Winky's sorry sir, b-but the tent was about t-to catch on fire." Winky cried pitifully.

"Come now, gentlemen. Surely, a house-elf wouldn't have done this. How would they even know of such a spell?" Arthur asked, trying to smooth over the situation.

"Yes, Crouch. Where would your house-elf ever learn such a thing?" Amos asked suspiciously.

Crouch frowned at him, "If you wish to accuse me of something, Amos, then hurry and do it."

Amos frowned, "Not accusing, just pondering…"

"Well I would keep your thoughts in your head where no one can hear them." Crouch growled.

"Men!" Arthur said, stepping in between the two arguing wizards. "The important thing is that nobody was seriously injured. Now, if you don't mind, I'm going to take my family back to my tent and get some sleep… we have a long travel ahead of us in the morning."

I followed them, while looking at the faces of the ministry employees who were giving us cool looks. I met the eyes of a dark-skinned man with large dark yet somehow kind eyes. I broke the look though as soon as I almost fell on my face, and decided that it might be a good idea to look where I was going. I was clumsy enough when it wasn't dark.

When we finally reached the tent, I was relieved to see that the twins, Ginny, and the three eldest Weasley brothers were already back.

"What just happened?" Harry asked them.

As Arthur, Bill, and Charlie explained the Dark Mark and Death Eaters to Harry, I curled up at the foot of the sofa next to Hermione. Surprisingly my thoughts weren't on Death Eaters, or Voldemort. I found myself thinking about the annoying toerag I had conversed with in the woods.

I would never understand Draco Malfoy.

* * *

**A/U**: Two chapters in two days! ErmaGerd! Can I get a round of applauds? Yes? No? Oh, alright.

This wasn't the best chapter ever given it had some depressing things in it. I also had to improve a lot of the actual scene, since I am trying to remember every single detail from memory, and some from the Harry Potter Wiki. But I don't think it turned out too bad.

I some ValxDraco in there for you. Hope you guys enjoyed it!

**Responces:**  
xXMizzAlecVolturiXx- Hope you enjoyed this chapter too! :D

HPFan101- Yes, it is based more or less on an arranged marriage. The situation will be explained more thouroughly by Blaise, soon enough.  
The thing is that the first Harry Potter fanfictions I read were the Sirius Black ones, and a lot of them keep the Slytherins in an old-fashioned style, so that's how I've always saw them. Especially since it is mentioned that they marry within the family in order to keep their family pure. When I first read that in the Harry Potter book, the first thing I thought of was Pride and Prejudice! xD Since Slytherins only mingle with their inner circle, I always pictured them as 'stuck-in-time' with their mind-sets. So you'll notice in a lot of my Blaise or Draco P.O.V.'s that Slytherins behave very old-fashioned in certain ways such as the husband having the power of the family, arranged marriage, and in their mannerisms. It's just my perception of them. It will show a lot in Draco too.  
^Sorry for that little ramble xD. Either way. Thank you sooo much for the review!

* * *

~Nic


	9. Dress Robes

_Blaise's POV_  
"Were you out there last night?" Blaise asked, his voice rough and annoyed—partly from the subject he was confronting his step-father about, and part from lack of sleep. He was untying the rope that connected the hammock to one of the trees.

"That's none of your business, the way I see it." Darius replied, as he waved his wand in order to magically fold up the large black tent that consisted of two rooms, a kitchen, a dining room, a living room, and a library. Even from outside the tent, Blaise could smell the strong overwhelming scent of the perfume his mum usually used.

"Oh really," Blaise said straightening up. "Because the way I see it, _you_ used taking _me _to the World Cup as an excuse to get away from my mum. And when I wake up at two o'clock in the morning to the sound of screaming and terror… it makes it my business."

Darius looked closely at him. "What makes you think that I used the World Cup as a way to get away from your mum? I love your mum."

Blaise laughed, "_Please. _My mum has already been married three times, and there's been a bit of pattern. No one loves my mum after they marry her. She's sweet when she first meets you. She wears low cut dresses, acts easily manipulated, and purrs sweet nothings into your ear. She's in love with you all the way. You propose, fall madly in love, spend hundreds if not thousands of galleons on some fancy wedding. The first week after you guys are married, everything is fine. Then you guys start to notice that mom isn't just a pretty face. She's a pretty face with a bitchy attitude." He gave loose another quiet snarky laugh before mimicking a high pitched voice that was supposed to be an impression of his mum, "_Button your shirt. Tie your tie. Fix your hair."_ His voice changed back normal. "You have to look perfect and be perfect everyday of your life. And the day you screw up, or she gets bored with you…"

He stopped and took a deep breath. He had said too much, and let his emotions overcome him. You couldn't do that in the Slytherin world.  
And there were lines that he couldn't cross, even if he did hate his mum… mentioning his former 'step-dads' were a line. It wasn't like people didn't suspect his mum of murder. I mean her three previous husbands had lasted around a year before they suddenly died, leaving his mum to inherit the money. But there was no evidence pointing to her. And the fact that most people knew she was capable of murder earned her respect from notable Slytherin others such as—Lucius Malfoy, Nott, and other Death Eaters. It also earned her a high reputation that had passed down on to him. The way most people saw it, if one Zabini was capable of murder… what makes her son any better?  
But he would never give her up to authorities for one reason only. That reason wasn't respect, or love, or loyalty… he was no bloody Hufflepuff. It was simply for protection. If his mum was gone, he was screwed.

So he didn't finish the sentence he was going to tell Darius, but he didn't need to.

Darius looked at him oddly. "And then I die?"

Blaise didn't answer and Darius smirked. "You think I'm an idiot, don't you?"

"You were stupid enough to marry my mum." Blaise snapped.

"You were stupid enough to fall for a Gryffindor." Darius pointed out, crossing his arms.

Blaise snapped his mouth shut, determined not to let the anger escape. He was usually good at controlling emotions, but whenever someone mentioned Valica… a spark within him ignited and burned as hot fury.

"I knew what I was getting into by becoming… close… with Valica." Blaise finally said, clenching his teeth. Darius surprised Blaise by keeping his gaze even, and saying a simple 'yes'.

"What?" Blaise asked, shocked.

"I knew exactly what I was getting into, Blaise. I knew that your mum was a supposable murderess. I was aware that your mum had been married three times before me, and all of her husbands had died mysteriously. I know that she is obsessive of perfection, and she is about as kind and loving as a viper. I'm not as stupid as you think, Blaise… trust me about that."

Blaise snorted, "I learned a long time ago not to trust Death Eaters."

Darius's eyebrows raised high on his head, "What gave you the impression that I am a Death Eater?"

Blaise glared, "I woke up when the attack started and you weren't in the tent… I searched for you. If you weren't in the tent, then you were out there. You're a coward. All of this adds up to you being a Death Eater."

Blaise turned away to finish untying the hammock when suddenly he felt himself falling to the ground. He landed hard and tried to open his mouth to grunt… but he couldn't. He attempted to move his arms to push himself up, or at least flip himself onto his back… but he couldn't move them. He was completely immobile, with his face in the dirt.

"Listen, Blaise. What I wasn't prepared for when I married your mum was _you_. I didn't expect a Slytherin woman's son to be disrespectful or loyal, or brave enough to turn his back on his kind. You've managed to impress me, Blaise. And part of me sympathizes with you for not having a father in your life. But I will _not_ tolerate being accused by you. You were _raised_ in a Death Eater lifestyle. I didn't see you stepping out to save those muggles last night, so don't you go and get some self-righteous attitude. I _know_ Astoria warned you that there would be a Death Eater Uprising, but you did _nothing_. If anyone deserves to be called a Death Eater, it's you. And if you ever insult me as such again…" Darius didn't finish his sentence.  
"Get up." Darius hissed. Blaise released the grunt he had held in, and moved his arms once the immobility jinx was raised. Pushing himself off the ground, he brushed the dirt off of his black robes and glared at Darius who was looking over Blaise's shoulder. Blaise turned to see a tall dark-skinned man with a gold hoop earring moving purposely towards them with a young woman that couldn't have been in more than her early twenties with bubblegum pink hair. Blaise noted the auror badge that was pinned to both of their chests.

"I'm sorry for hexing you…" Darius said quietly, "That was rude."

Blaise snorted, and crossed his arms. However the grudging respect that was slowly growing for Darius Suez showed in his eyes, and he wondered if maybe this step-father would be different.

* * *

_Valica's POV_

"Oh, Arthur!" The loud yell of relief reached our ears as we neared the Burrow. Molly ran out of the house to greet us. She had tears streaming down her face, and my heart squeezed in sympathy.  
"Oh boys!" She continued, sobbing, and pulling both of the twins into a hug at the same time. "I saw the headlines in the newspaper, but I didn't know if you all were alright. I never got a chance t-tell you how p-proud I was of you two!"

The twins' faces were a mixture of confusion, sheepishness, and guilt.  
"Mum…" Fred whined.  
"It's alright." George said, patting her arm awkwardly.  
"You have plenty…"  
"Of time to fawn over us."  
"Forge and I are…"  
"better than ever."  
"Well Forge is better than usual, considering he's got himself a girlfriend now." Fred said thoughtfully aloud, causing George to go into a sputtering fit, and me to blush.  
The awkward moment, however, faded from my mind as I looked back at the burrow to see a familiar looking man in shabby grey robes. I half walked, and half jogged towards him, and he met me halfway.

We both stopped about an arm's length away, and Moony's eyes swept over me from head to toe, taking in my holey sneakers, sweatpants, large t-shirt that was obviously not mine, and messy hair that stuck out in all directions. I hadn't gotten back to sleep after the commotion of last night. Every time I had closed my eyes, I seen the little boy's face open in silent desperate pleas, or the mum with her arms outstretched, or the girl silently screaming for her brother. My eyes must been bloodshot, with deep lines underneath them.

I took in his appearance too. His forehead had worry creases in them, and his eyes also had deep lines under them.

"Are you alright?" He asked me quietly.

I honestly don't know what happened. I opened my mouth to say yes, when suddenly a recounting of the events of last night stumbled out of my mouth in a hurried nonsensical wave.  
"There was a boy, and the Death Eaters were spinning him, and he was scared, and his family couldn't help them… and I couldn't… and I watched… the girl was crying, and helpless. I couldn't do anything, I just watched. They didn't do anything, but they were being tortured for no reason, because they didn't have magic…"

Remus didn't even hesitate before taking a step and hugging me against his chest. I'll admit that I stiffened at first, but gradually I eased up and let him hug me. He didn't try to comfort me with words, most likely for the simple reason that no words could comfort me.

Finally, I pulled away. I hadn't shed any tears, but I rubbed my eyes to clear the weariness from them. "I'm sorry for worrying you." I admitted quietly.

"It wasn't your fault… it's just a father thing I suppose." He said, smirking.

So this is what it was like to have a father.

* * *

_Blaise's POV_

"You saw Valica?" Blaise exclaimed, bolting up from where he had been sprawling on the couch.

"Mhm." Draco said, sitting sideways on an armchair, and ignoring Blaise's look of shock, jealousy, and excitement. His head was in his potion's textbook studying antidotes.

"How is she? Does she seem okay? Who was she with?" Blaise demanded loudly. It wasn't until he threw a pillow at the platinum haired boy, that he received an answer.

"I saw her once in the stands. She wasn't the best-looking girl last year, but I'll admit she was decent. Now she just looks mangy—really scrawny, still short, dark lines under her eyes. And she cut her hair really short. But at least she was dressed decently then."

"Scrawny? Dark lines? _Wait_, she _cut _her _hair_?" Blaise paused before looking up, his eyes wide. "When did you see not dressed decently?"

"Mhm." Draco muttered, frowning at the complicated nature of one of the antidote formulas. He grunted as Blaise snatched the book from his hands. Draco debated fighting to get it back, but decided against it. Last year, when they used to rough around, he may have a chance of winning and getting the book back. This summer however, it was quite clear who would win. Not to say Draco hadn't grown any in height, but nothing compared to Blaise who must have hit some kind of growth spurt and had grown several inches. On top of that, his friend had taken it upon himself, after being beat up last year, to build up his muscles more. "Yes, she cut her hair so that it is right above her shoulder. The second time I saw her was during the attack, in the woods. She was dressed in a pair of sweatpants that were so big on her that they had to be knotted, a large black t-shirt that would have made a better dress, and sneakers that had large holes in them."

"Did she seem okay other than physically?" Blaise asked, worry evident in his voice.

"She's still annoying and obnoxiously Gryffindor, if that's what you're wondering." Draco said, before rolling his eyes. "Though she was slightly more agreeable in our conversation than I remember her ever being."  
This wasn't necessarily true, but Draco wasn't about to bring up the time that Valica and him had carried out of conversation in the Hospital Wing.

"Wait… you carried out conversation with her?"

"Yes…" Draco said, slightly confused at the bewildered look on his best friend's face.

"And she didn't insult you at all?"

"Well I believe the terms 'git' and 'cold-blooded reptile' were used at one point, but overall she was civil. Plus, I didn't leave the conversation with a bruise on me… that's something.

Blaise chuckled slightly, "And _you_ were nice?"

"She gave me no reason to be too awful." Draco dismissed with a wave of a hand.

"You've never needed a reason to be awful to Gryffindors." Blaise pointed out.

Draco groaned, "What do you want me to say, Blaise? Maybe, I was still in a good mood from Ireland's victory. Maybe I was still happy that I knew Potter was wetting his pants somewhere." He looked down at his shoes, "Maybe I was trying to make up for standing by and watching you get your butt kicked by Marcus Flint and the other muscled up idiots."

Silence hung over them, "It's okay, man. I don't really blame you. Reputation is necessary in your family."

Draco nodded, "Yeah, it is."

* * *

_Two Weeks Later_

* * *

_ Valica_

"Now, I'm restraining myself from assaulting you with reminders."

"What?" I laughed, and looked at Moony was grinning down at me.

"You know, like 'Don't forget to write', and 'Don't forget to do your wash ', 'Don't forget that you need to buy dress robes'." At my blank stare, he chuckled. "You've never heard of the worried parent speech?"

"By lack of worried parents and television, I think I have a right to be a little ignorant of some of these customs." I said, chuckling. He stuck his tongue out at me.

"Well actually it's more of a worried mother thing." He said, scrunching his nose. "My father was more of the slap-on-the-back type and tells you not to get a girl pregnant." He paused, "Which I don't have to worry about from you."

"So you're telling me that you're more of a mum than a dad?" I asked, with a mockingly confused tone. He flicked my ear this time.

By now we were standing in front of Platform 9 and ¾. Like last year, I wasn't as eager to cross the border between the wizarding world and the muggle world as I should have most likely been. Yet last year, it was because I was afraid of the unknown. Magic was still like a fairytale to me then. Now it was more real than anything I had known before.  
No, my hesitation was for a most different reason. I found myself not wanting to leave Moony behind. I could hardly imagine Hogwarts without his reliable presence. And yeah, I had grown more attached to him than I would have thought possible. I had thought my father was nonexistent for thirteen years. I had only been with him for little less than two weeks, yet I was already as close to him as any girl who had known her father for her whole life. Maybe closer even, because I knew what it was like to not have him.

"Do you want to wait here for the Weasleys' or…?" Remus asked me.

"No, I probably should go find a compartment or they'll all be taken up. Harry says that the Weasley's have a tendency to run late."

"That's true." He chuckled. "It must be hard to get ready with five kids attending at one time."

"Four now." I said grinning, "Percy is, fortunately, graduated and officially _gone_ for _good_ from Hogwarts. I swear, if that boy shushed me once more in the common room I was going to rip his lips off and feed them to the Giant Squid."

Remus laughed, "He was a slight… know-it-all." I snorted at the word slight, and he chuckled.

"Well you better get going then." He sighed, checking his pocket watch. He awkwardly shuffled his feet before pulling me into a light hug. I hugged him tightly, before pulling back and grinning.

He beamed back, before mockingly interrogating me. "Do you have your uniform?"

"Yes." I rolled my eyes.

"All school books?"

"Yes, Moony!"

"Extra quills, parchment, vials, and cauldron?"

"Check."

"Permission slip to go to Hogsmeade instead of walking around Hogwarts aimlessly bumping into things and causing havoc?"

I narrowed my eyes and frowned playfully. "Yes."

He chuckled before his face got serious. "Shoot!" He groaned, "We forgot to get dress robes!"

"What are dress robes?" I asked, slightly panicked.

"They're basically dresses for women, and fancy looking robes for men. You were required to have them this year."

"Can I buy them in Hogsmeade?" I asked. _A dress?_ They wanted to put _me _in a _dress? _Were they absolutely _nuts?_

"Actually, now that you mention it, I think they do sell them there! Did you bring any money?" He asked.

I nodded, and once again was thankful for my small inheritance. I had found out from Sirius in my letters that the money I had been sent at the Weasley's house was actually from my mum's vault at Gringotts. Moony didn't let it show, but I knew he was relieved that I had another income, considering what he made at the jobs he got was barely enough for him to live off of.

"It'll be fine!" I said.

Finally, with one more quick hug, and a few reminders for me to keep my grades up (Especially in Charms), I had to go through the barrier. He would have accompanied me, but neither one of us were exactly good at long goodbyes. Also, there was going to be a lot of returning students with their parents at the station that would recognize him as last year's DADA teacher, _and _a werewolf. It would have caused too much of an upheaval. So with a wave, I put both of my hands on the trolley, where my owl, Buddha, was unhappy about being in its cage, similar to last year. She glared at me hatefully while I winked at her. "It's going to be better this year." I whispered to her. And then, I started jogging towards a solid wall.

I watched at the solid brick texture dissolved before my eyes to reveal a whole other secret platform, and my own secret world.  
Children of various ages were running around, hugging their friends in greetings, and showing off anything recently acquired over the summer. I spotted numerous familiar faces, such as Hannah Abbott, Ernie Macmillan, and Angelina Johnson.  
"Valica!" Someone yelled, and I turned to see a familiar pudgy blonde boy with a kind smile, and warm eyes. He waved enthusiastically.

"Neville!" I laughed, and waved back. He was standing next to an elderly woman, and I had to turn away and cover a laugh. I recognized her apparel from Neville's boggart last year in Remus's class. With another wave, I began to hall my infernal trunk and bird cage towards the train. And then I realized that I was in a similar position that I was in last year—my heavy trunk and bird cage, and the fact that I needed to lift it on a train.

"I'm having this strange sense that I have saw this before," Someone laughed from a nearby open window of the train. I recognized the smooth warm voice that was almost as attractive as the guy's features. I wasn't disappointed as I turned to see Cedric Diggory's handsome face sticking out of the window.

"Isn't that called deja-vu?" I asked him, and he smirked.

"You say tomato, I say potato." He teased and I snorted at his incorrect phrase. "Either way, it looks like you're in a bit of a pickle."

"I suppose I am." I allowed, half frowning at him.

He chuckled and his head disappeared from the window, but he appeared in full form in front of me, on the platform. "I'm always willing to help a lady in need."

"I thought chivalry was a Gryffindor thing." I teased lightly. "And I'm not a 'lady in need'!"

He laughed and handed me Buddha's bird cage, before lifting one end of the trunk onto the train and pulling it the rest of the way. I climbed up behind him, and he turned to grin at me.

"So what'd you think of the situation at the World Cup?" He asked me, cocking his eyebrows, "Pretty insane, I'd say."

I nodded and fought the urge to shudder, "Absolutely awful."

"My dad works at the ministry, and he said the muggles were going to be fine. They don't remember anything." He said, giving me a half-smile.

"I still think that the wizards that did that to them though should be sent straight to Azkaban." I said fiercely.

He smiled, "That would be anyone's first reaction. But after the dementors stay at Hogwarts last year… I don't know if anyone deserves a life sentence with one of them."

"Oi, Cedric!" Both of us looked down the hall to see the boy I recognized as one of the beaters from the Hufflepuff Quidditch team; a short yet stocky boy with dark hair that looked black. "Come on man, we've got a game to finish!"

Cedric looked back at me and grinned, "I was in the middle of a game of Wizard Snaps when I noticed your dilemma. I better get back."

"Yeah, and um… _thanks_ for my trunk… again." I muttered sheepishly, looking down at my shoes.

"It wasn't any problem. Tell Harry that I look forward to playing him again this year, and 'good luck'." I nodded, and he turned to start walking towards his compartment. He paused long enough to turn around and grin, "Try to stay out of the Hospital Wing this year, Quem!"

"It's Lupin, thank you!" I responded sticking my tongue out. "He's my dad." I explained at his questioning look.

"Cool!" He grinned again, "I really enjoyed his lessons last year."

As I made my way in the opposite direction, towards the end of the train, I couldn't help but ponder what Cedric had said, '_After the dementors stay at Hogwarts last year… I don't know if anyone deserves a life sentence with one of them'._  
I decided at that moment that I hadn't met anyone kinder than Cedric Diggory. I sorely hoped that his kindness wouldn't come back to bite him.

There were still a few empty compartments remaining, and I quickly claimed one for myself. I pushed my trunk against a wall, and sat Buddha's cage on top of it, ignoring her protests… again.

I plopped myself down on the seat closest to the window, and leaned my head back of the wall of the compartment, closing my eyes.

Sudden weight settled on top of me, and I jumped, and shoved my hands out as a reflex. The weight was suddenly gone, and a loud thump was heard, followed by a 'Ouch!'

"What the heck?" I asked, my eyes flying open.

"I don't think my bum will ever be the same, Val." The fifteen year old petite girl muttered from the ground in front of me.

"Katie?" I asked, confused, rubbing sleep out of my eyes.

"Yes, Valica! Did you forget me already?" She teased, standing up. She hadn't changed much over the summer. Her brown hair had grown out past her shoulders, but was still as straight as ever. She had a small nose that pointed slightly at the end, and other delicate facial features. She was still short—only an inch or two taller than me.

"Of course not…" I chuckled, still drowsy. I pushed myself up and she pulled me into a hug. For such a small girl, she could pack some force into her hugs.  
I stiffened from the tightness, but I didn't want to hurt her feelings, so I just gritted my teeth and bared it.

"Katie, let her breathe." Alicia Spinnet laughed from the doorway. She had light coffee colored skin, and thick dark brown hair that almost looked black. She wasn't skinny, but she was pretty. Behind her was a dark skinned boy with dread locks that went down to his shoulders, a large grin, and a mischevious look in his brown eyes.

Katie laughed and pulled back, before girlishly squealing over my hair. "Oh my goodness, Val! Short hair is _such_ a good look on you. It makes your hair look even wavier! Turn around, I want to see the back."

I groaned, but turned around just to make her happy. I tolerated her girlish squealing for holding up my hand and chuckling, "Okay, Katie, you know I have a small tolerance for girlish noises."

"I did too at the start of last year, but that didn't last long with Katie around." Lee Jordan muttered from behind Alicia. I noticed that his arms were around her waist. "So Alicia finally said yes?"

Alicia blushed, and shrugged, while Lee's face broke out in a grin. "She couldn't resist me anymore."  
"Or maybe I just got tired of you asking."  
"Either way is cool with me." He muttered, kissing her cheek.

Katie made gagging motions at me, and I laughed. Katie hugged and crossed her arms, "I always hated being the third wheel."

"Make that the fifth wheel." Lee pointed out, before winking at me, "Seeing as George finally got around to asking Valica out."

Katie's eyes widened and she spun around. Before she could open her mouth, I cut her off, "Squeal girlishly and I _will_ hurt you."

She swallowed the squeal, but started jumping up and down instead. "That is _so_ cute. Wait, how long have you liked him? Was that your Gryffindor crush? Oh my _goodness_, it was, wasn't it! That's why he got so upset about you hanging with Blaise… because he liked you! Oh my _goodness_! Valica, why didn't you tell me? I could have totally set you guys up! And he's tall, and your short, and you guys are just so _cute!_ How did it happen? When? Did you guys-" Her ramble was cut off by my hand covering her mouth.

"Katherine, if I let you squeal, will you be quiet?" I asked, sighing. At her nod, I sighed and let my hand drop. "Okay, get it out."

Her high pitched girly squeal was enough to make my eye twitch.

"Goodness, Katie!" Two voices said at the same time. I spun around to see the twins plugging their ears.

"George Fabian Weasley!" She growled glaring, "Why didn't you tell me you had a crush on one of my friends?"

George rolled his eyes, "Because you couldn't keep your mouth shut if your life depended on it."

Katie crossed her arms in a pout, "That isn't true! For your information, I have a secret now, and a good one!"

"Oh really?" George asked, his facial expression making it clear that he didn't believe her.  
Fred wore a similar expression, "What is it?"

"Well I can't tell _you_, it's a secret."

I chuckled and shook my head, causing her to elbow me. "It's true!"

"Sure, sure." I said, smirking.

I looked back at the twins who were now talking to Lee, "Do you three happen to know where my trio is?"

"Next compartment over," George said.  
"Though, you could stay with us…" Fred grinned,  
"If you want to." George finished.

I smiled small but politely declined, before making my way over to the next compartment.

Hermione looked up at me as I entered and grinned, "I was beginning to wonder if you were going to abandon us for your boyfriend." She loved to refer to George as my boyfriend seeing as it made me squirm. I mean, I liked George and he liked me, but I was still new to the title 'dating' and 'boyfriend and girlfriend'. It made me think of the girls who giggled and blushed and did their nails.

"I still can't believe your dating my brother." Ron said, scrunching his nose in distaste.

"And what is so wrong with your brother?" I asked, laughing. "It's not like I'm dating Percy, it's George."

"I know, but your one of my best friends... It's just weird."

I just rolled my eyes, and didn't say anything else. Both Ron and I let our owls out the window once the train pulled out the station.  
I sat down next to Harry, and across from Hermione and Ron.

"I've got to get dress robes on the Hogsmeade trip." I told Hermione, frowning.

She chuckled, "I can tell from the look on your face that that idea sounds about as fun to you as jumping into a lake of acid."

"Worse." I said chuckling. "It's more like... As painful as tutoring with Draco Malfoy."

"It's just dress robes." Harry said.

"Harry, love, look at me really close. Now close your eyes and try to imagine me in dress robes."  
He did as I told him and burst out laughing. "Okay, it is pretty... Odd."

"Odd, it's not just odd, Harry, it's absolutely ridiculous." I said, shaking my head.

"You haven't laid eyes on my dress robes." Ron frowned. "It looks likesomething Nearly Headless Nick wore in his days."

This caused all four of us to burst out laughing.

"I wonder why we will need dress robes." Hermione commented a moment later.

"Snape and the Giant Squid's wedding." Ron said, shrugging. "Beats me."  
"Dumbledor's 185th birthday party." Harry said, cracking a smile.  
"Nearly Headless Nick's 5000th funeral." Hermione put in.  
After Ron proposed that maybe it was Filch and Madam Pince's wedding, we were ask done, and burst out laughing.

It took us longer to stop laughing than it probably should have. There was just something about all of us being together, just us, on the way to Hogwarts, that made every joke a bit funnier, every smile a little kinder, and the overall atmosphere sweeter.  
Once all of the laughing was over, something inside of me felt heavier. Even at the World Cup, or these past two weeks with Lupin, which had been amazing, I had felt a force weighing on me... guilt. Guilt for leaving Gale behind. He was always in the back of my mind. I wondered what he would be doing right now. It was past eleven, which meant he had been awake for a few hours. Classes started at 9:30am… he would be in his second class of the day—World History with Mr. Allister. My stomach flipped at the very thought.  
"Valica, come back to us." Hermione chuckled, poking my side, and waking me from my thoughts.

"Huh?" I mumbled, blinking.

"Trolley's here." She said, pulling me to my feet. I pulled some knuts from my pocket and followed her out. The twins and their party were out in the halls talking to some kids in their year from Ravenclaw.  
George grinned at me, and I smiled back. I selected a box of Bertie's Every Flavor Beans, and a bag of licorice wands, while as usual Harry bought several Chocolate Frogs. I tossed one to Ron who was accepting them only because he had paid Harry back in Leprechaun gold at the World Cup.

"Just think about it as my late birthday present for the past fourteen years." I said, "And you can repay me by teaching me how to play Chess without throwing the board."

"I don't think that's possible." He teased, "I haven't seen anyone as bad as you are since... Well, Hermione."

"I'm not that bad!" Hermione frowned.

I handed the trolley lady the proper amount and flicked Ron off.

"I wonder what this year's Defense Against the Dark Arts teacher will be like." Hermione said to me, as we stood off to the side and waited for Harry.

"Whoever he is, he won't be able to compare to Moony." I said, sadly.

"Well Quem, I doubt there is much worse than a werewolf." An arrogant voice said behind me. I spun around to see Draco Malfoy scowling as usual. I noticed in my peripheral vision that his goonies Crabbe and Goyle were with him, but I didn't pay much attention to them.

"How about a death eater?" I asked, tilting my head. My voice was low so that the only person other than him and I who heard it was Hermione.

"At least the death eaters have a sickle to their name, can your precious werewolf father say the same?"

I had a strong urge to take the knitted bag full of galleons out of my trunk and hit him across the face with it. And then maybe shove it down his throat.  
What can I say? Draco Malfoy gave me violent thoughts.  
Instead I just smiled sweetly, "What good is money to the death eaters rotting in Azkaban, having tea with the dementors?"

I didn't mistake the flash of fury in his hard grey eyes.

"I bet you would know a lot about that, given your first father spent some quality time in there." Draco smirked. "So did your mum sleep with your best friend's parents' murderer or not?" He smirked at the expression on my face, "Oh, did I strike a nerve this time, Quem?"

I went to literally strike one of his nerves, but Hermione gripped my arm to pull me back. That must have been enough to drive Harry and Ron's (plus almost every other person in the hall) attention to us.

"What do you want Malfoy?" Harry spat.

"I think he likes the feel of Valica punching him in the face." One of Draco's goons muttered loudly.

Several surprised faces turned to the boy who had spoken, including me.  
I didn't recognize the person at first.  
And then his eyes meet mine.

"Hey Gryffindork."

* * *

**A/U** I know you hate me, but I really needed this extended break. I had been suffering from severe writer's bock, and it didn't help that my grades in school were dropping dramatically. I've got some priorities straight, and have learned to manage my time better.

Chapters should be coming up a bit more regularly now.

Thanks for all the reviews. I love you all! 3

~Nic


	10. Don't Do That

I stood there for a moment, unbelieving.  
Blaise Zabini was never short, but he wasn't relatively tall either. He was shorter than Harry, and almost dwarfed by the twins. He had had a mass of dark dreadlocks, similar to Lee Jordan's. He had dark brown eyes that were somewhat guarded—most of the Slytherin's were, if you looked close enough—but also almost always sparkled with some humor that seemed to come from someone else's embarrassment. Katie had once described him as hot, but I had never seen it in him, yet I had never looked for it either. He was just Blaise, with his annoying smirk, trademark eye rolling, and humorous chuckle. He was Zucchini.

This guy was at least as tall as Ron, which meant he was only a few inches behind the twins. His hair was… gone. I mean… he wasn't bald, but it was extremely short. His arms were muscled up, not body-builder muscled, but definitely _there_. I knew a few kids at the orphanage that would have backed down at the sight of him.  
But that wasn't the difference that stood out the most to me. It was his overall demeanor that bothered me the most. The way he stood so straight, and the sneer that covered his face instead of his smirk. There was still humor in his eyes, but it was darker. His whole aura was more closed off, and he held his head in a way that unnervingly reminded me of the way that Lucius Malfoy had—like the world revolved around him.  
For the first time, Blaise Zabini resembled a true prejudice Slytherin.

"You cut you hair."  
That wasn't what I had planned on saying, but sometimes my brain and mouth have communication issues.

His sneer turned into a smirk… darker than usual... but still a smirk.  
"So did you."

Silence.  
Was I just imagining the crickets chirping? Goodness, I sure hoped I was.

"You've gotten taller." I remarked next.

"You've gotten shorter." He countered.

I narrowed my eyes, and frowned. "I have not!"

His smirk twitched. "Have too!"

I repressed the urge to stamp my foot, and pout. Blaise brought out the two year old child in me. "Nuh uh."

And for a moment, his cold façade faded, and he chuckled. I smiled at that small victory. He took a few steps towards me and I closed the rest of the distance. He wrapped his arms around my shoulders and pulled me so tight that I couldn't breathe. But there was something desperate about it, like he was afraid he would never be able to hug me again. I couldn't hug him as much with him holding me in a death grip, so I just leaned on him and patted his shoulder awkwardly. I heard Draco make a snide comment towards Ron and Harry, but for a brief moment I was completely oblivious to everything. It's the best feeling in the world when you reunite with someone you love (in a _brotherly_ way), even if he was gripping you hard enough to squeeze the oxygen out of your lungs.

"Too-pale skin, slightly too skinny, roughly cut hair, and dark lines under your eyes;" He said, finally letting me go. He had lowered his voice, and people had gone back in their compartment now that they realized there wasn't going to be any fight. He leaned against the wall of the aisle and smirked at me. Almost his usual smirk, but colder; everything seemed to be colder. "You must have had a _very_ interesting summer."

"Unusually cold expressions, bulged up arms, brutally short hair, and hanging out with Malfoy;" I quipped, looking him up and down. "You're one to talk."

"Checking me out already, Gryff?" He teased lightly.

I swallowed uneasily and looked down at my shoes. I had tried to block out all memories of his confession last year. He had said that it didn't matter, and I had tried to believe that. But in a way it did. He frowned. "None of that now, Val."

"Sorry." I said sheepishly.

His frowned deepened, and his eyebrows creased as if he was thinking of something unpleasant. "Don't apologize pointlessly." He went to say something else, but was interrupted by Malfoy clearing his throat.  
"Blaise, let's go."

Blaise sighed, and I felt a small bit of fury ignite within me. How dare Malfoy order Blaise around like he was one of his minions? Blaise was _not_ Crabbe or Goyle.

And then, to my greatest shock, Blaise nodded at him. "Yeah, I'm coming."

"When the hell did you become one of Malfoy's minions?" I whispered harshly, unable to calm the roaring anger in me.

"Chill, sweetheart. I prefer the term _partner_, if you don't mind. And it's a long story that I would _love_ to tell you about. Can you ride to Hogwarts in the carriages with me, or is the trio hogging you again?"

I looked down at my shoes, "I told Fred and George that I would ride with them and Angelina."

"Still drooling after Weasley then?" I didn't mistake the bitterness in his voice, and my head snapped up.  
"He has a first name, _Zabini._"

"Sorry, _Quem_. So you're still drooling after _George_ then?"

"It's Lupin." I snapped out of habit. "And we're dating, thank you."

Anger overwhelmed his features before disappearing into… nothing. "Oh."  
And then of course, the guilt overcame me and I sighed. "I'm sorry; I've just got some anger built up. I didn't mean to take it out on you."

He shrugged and smirked, "It's all good."  
_Liar_.

"For the record, I missed you more than I did Malfoy." I tried.

He rolled his eyes, "That's a relief."

"Sarcasm, smirk, eye-roll; Maybe you _are_ Zucchini, and not some random guy with short hair." I said.

"_Blaise._" Draco growled and Zabini sighed, and nodded.

"I'll catch you later then." He said, straightening up.

"Tomorrow?" I asked, once again wishing that he didn't sit all the way across the entire Great Hall at the feast. There was something in his eyes though, and in his smirk when he said 'later'; something that made me slightly suspicious.

"Sooner than that, Gryff." He said, winking, before looking over my shoulder and grinning, "Potter. Granger. _Weasleys_."

And with that he turned around and joined Draco, who was already retreating. That snake couldn't last very long in a den of lions. I didn't miss the fact that Blaise didn't flank Malfoy like Crabbe and Goyle, but instead walked next to him. I heard his earlier words, _I prefer the term partner._

I groaned, and shook my head, before turning back towards my trio. I raised my eyebrows at the fact the Lee Jordan, and two other boys in the twin's year were holding them back. Harry and Hermione were holding Ron back.

"Malfoy." Hermione commented, and I nodded.

"He's a prick, Ron, don't take anything he says seriously." I said, joining them and patting Ron's cheek teasingly, "Honestly, your face is as red as your hair. Chill out, Ginger."

"Says the girl that punched him in the face last year." Ron growled, but it lacked humor, and I could hear the anger in his voice.

Once it was clear Malfoy was too far away for the Weasley's to chase down, they were released.  
Ron stalked back into our compartment, and I sensed that he was going to be in a bad mood for the rest of the trip. Well, dang. Hermione rolled her eyes at me and shrugged.

George came over to me and groaned, "I still don't like the guy."

"I know." I said, sighing.

* * *

Clumsiness, rain, slippery stairs—can anyone tell me what the result is?

A sopping wet Valica with a sore bum.

I wouldn't be me if I didn't make a complete fool of myself by slipping of the last step down step of the platform onto my bum. I sat there for a moment, groaning, feeling the downpour soak through my uniform robes and into my muggle clothing. My hair, which had been left down again, stuck to the side of my face. The water had even soaked into my new black tennis shoes and into my socks.  
Yet I was content. I was at Hogwarts, and this year my mum's murder wasn't as heavy on my heart.

Did I ever wonder about her murder? Yes, every single night, right before I went to bed. It sometimes weighed me down so much that I couldn't breathe hardly. I dreamed about her every night.  
But now it was different. It didn't control every thought of mine. I had Remus and Sirius, and they definitely made a difference.

Two hands seized my arms and hauled me off my bum and on my feet. I figured it would be George or Fred, I had been walking with them, but when I turned around, I met the dark face that belonged to this new Blaise Zabini.

"You'll catch cold." He said, and I noticed his voice was deeper this year.

"I have a good immune system." I commented, shrugging and looking around for the twins. I spotted them a few meters off. "I'll see you at the castle, yeah?"

He smiled suspiciously, "Yeah."

I went to walk toward them when Blaise reached out and grabbed my arms. "Or you could see me _now, _in the carriage on the way to Hogwarts."

"I told you, I'm riding with the twins." I said, confused.

"Did you?" He asked, smirking coldly.

"_Yeah, _and I know you remember me telling you that, so what are you playing at?"

"I don't want you to ride with the twins." He said, simply. "I need to talk to you."

"And we'll talk, I promise, but I _promised_," I argued but Blaise just shook his head.

"Your misunderstanding me, Gryffindork. You don't have a choice in the matter. You are riding with me. This is _me_ officially _kidnapping_ you."

"You can't just kidnap me." I protested, slightly unbelieving.

"Sure I can." He said, smirking.

I chuckled, "No, Blaise, you literally cannot kidnap me." I said, looking at his large arms and back at his face, "I mean, you may have built up muscle, but I can still kick your arse." I patted his arm and smirked at his frown. "See you back at the castle." I succeeded in making a few steps, before I was in the air and a pressure built up in my abdomen. It took me a few moments to realize that I had been thrown over Blaise's shoulder. "What the _hell_? Blaise Julius Zabini, put me down!" I exclaimed, hacking as the heavy rain dripped into my mouth. I bounced slightly as he began walking away from the twins and toward the other carriages.

"Are you going to go willingly?" He asked.

"_Blaise_, George is going to be ticked off at me! _Please_, let me go. We'll go somewhere after the feast and talk!" I spit out more water. George already didn't like Blaise as it was, but I was positive he was _not_ going to be happy if I ditched him for Blaise. I couldn't blame him.

"Sorry, Valica, but you brought this upon yourself when you became friends with me."

We were at a carriage by now and Blaise put me down on my feet. "Now I can shove you inside the carriage or you can go willingly."

I frowned at him, the anger that seemed to live internally inside of me boiling. "He's going to be _so_ pissed." I muttered, but by now the twins would have been in a carriage, already wondering where I was at. I climbed inside the carriage, relieved to be out of the rain. I sat down on one of the cushioned seats and resisted shivering. I looked around the carriage and jumped as I realized I wasn't alone.  
Draco Malfoy sat across from me, perfectly dry, looking as smug as always. As usual, he looked at me condescendingly. It probably was supposed to make me feel small and inferior, but instead it just turned my mood even sourer.

I overheard Blaise talking to someone outside, and he entered with a cold smirk on his face. I didn't understand why until I saw who followed him inside.

I had only met Astoria Greengrass once, but she hadn't left a very good first impression. Actually, my first impression of her was that she was just a female version of the platinum haired boy that sat across from me. Not only in the way that she was stuck up, superior acting, and looked down on me, but also in the way that her features were overall perfect. In the dark compartment, her pale skin contrasted almost as much as Malfoy's platinum hair. Looking closely I noticed she had light crystal blue eyes. She had sharp features, and even wet, her dark chocolate brown hair fell in perfect ringlets past her shoulders and down her back. For only a girl of twelve or thirteen, she was shaping out to be more beautiful than ninety percent of the girls in the years above her.  
I didn't dislike her beauty because I was jealous of looks. I disliked her beauty because it was so… spotless, and in place, and annoyingly perfect.

Once I was angry, it took a lot to get me… not angry. I put my head on the side of the carriage and glared at Blaise who smiled cheekily at me. He settled in next to me.

"What are _you_ doing riding with a Gryffindor?" Draco asked Astoria, confused.

She frowned down her nose at him, and glared. "Says the prat that cares _so_ much for reputation." She slipped out her wand and muttered what must have been a drying spell, because the water dripped out and disappeared into her wet robes, leaving her hair dry and… perfect. I wanted to spill something on her or ruffle her hair, or something to make her look slightly less perfect.  
The fact that she could perform that _charm_ I hadn't even learned yet like it was no big deal, when I could hardly manage simple basic charms like the levitating charm, fueled my anger a bit more.

I hissed slightly at the burning sensation in my robe pocket and pulled out my wand. I had noticed these past two weeks that it seemed that whenever I got angry, my wand got extremely hot and sometimes admitted sparks. I ignored the burning as I clutched it and blew on it to cool it down. I wondered if I stuck it out in the cool rain if it would cool down.

Astoria had ignored me, as if I wasn't worth her attention any more than a speck of dirt did.  
"And it was this, sit with my sister and Pansy, or sit with your pair of empty headed idiot sidekicks." She spat venomously. "Believe it or not, I'd rather sit with," She finally looked at me, "_that_, then them."

"What's up with your wand?" Blaise asked me.

"It's Hazel wood. It reacts to the owner's emotions." Astoria said, off-handedly, answering his question for me.

"Oh goodness, that wand is going to cause some problems then." Blaise teased lightly.

I crossed my arms and glared at him.

"You're that upset at me for taking you away from Weasley?"  
I remained silent, resolute to keeping up my silent treatment.

As if reading my mind, he smirked and raised his eyebrows. "The silent treatment, really?"

I didn't say anything, and slipped off my black robe that was heavy with rainwater. I didn't really think much about the white shirt that I had on, and the fact that it was sopping wet and showing more than I would have been comfortable with. I was pretty oblivious to most things involving clothes.

I twisted and wrung my cloak out on the floor of the carriage, right on top of the three Slytherins' shoes. I tried not to get pleasure out of Astoria's gasp and grumbling, but I'll admit… I did.  
Finally I sighed, "You wanted to talk, Blaise. So talk."

He smirked, "I knew you would talk to me."

"That's it. I'm jumping out and walking to Hogwarts." I wasn't joking. The carriage wasn't going that fast, and it wasn't that long of a walk from Hogsmeade to Hogwarts. I stood up—short enough that I only had to bend down a little bit to avoid hitting my head on the top of the carriage. A hand shot out and wrapped around my wrist to stop me. Instantly, I noticed how smooth and cold the hand was. I clenched my hand, and turned around. I was shocked to see that it wasn't Blaise's hand that had pulled me to a stop, but actually Draco Malfoy. I glared at him, trying to keep my temper in check, seeing as we had been able to tolerate each other a week and a half ago. "Unless you fancy a punch in the face, you'll let go of me."

He rolled his eyes and pulled me back and into the seat across from him.

Blaise sighed and pulled me to him. "Don't be mad, Gryff. You want me talk, then fine, I'll talk." He sighed and tapped his hands nervously on his legs. "Okay, I don't exactly remember what I was going to talk to you about, so if you have any questions or any-"

"Why did you cut your hair?" I interrupted, turning so that I was facing him without having to look at the other two Slytherins.

"My mum made me cut it." He grumbled, rubbing his hands over his shaved hair. "She said that my dreads were too messy and juvenile." He glanced at me. "Why did you cut yours?"

"A girl I shared a dorm with back at the Orphanage took kitchen scissors to it in my sleep." I said dismissively, fingering the choppy edges that barely touched my shoulders. "Why do you look like you've taken steroids?"

"What are steroids?" He asked, cocking an eyebrow at me.

"It's a muggle concoction you can take in order to enhance muscle growth."

He chuckled coolly, "I didn't want a repeat of last year, so I worked on my self-defense a bit… even took a class or two."

"There's a wizarding place where you can learn self-defense?" I asked. I had noticed that most wizards relied on magic for protection—especially the ones who had been raised in magic.

"Who said I went to a wizarding place?" He asked, raising his eyebrows.

Picturing Blaise in a muggle gym or self-defense center eased my anger enough to let a smile slip through.

"There's my Gryffindor's smile." He teased, reaching to ruffle my hair.  
I looked him over closely. I tried to place my finger on what else was different. It wasn't just his hair, or his muscles, or his overall Slytherin cold front… it was something else.  
He seemed older somehow. Not just physically, but in the way that Remus did. Not technically old, but mentally aged, like he seen things that most people our age hadn't saw before.

"You look older." He mentioned, and my eyes widened at the similarity between his comment and my thoughts.

"I was just thinking the same about you." I said softly.

"So what happened this summer?" He asked, "You look like you've been through Hell and are just now getting over it."

I sighed and laid my head back against the wall of the carriage. Blaise didn't know about the methods of the orphanage. "Leaving behind this world was really tough on me. Especially since I knew that I had friends, and a dad here." It wasn't an entire lie. I turned my head to avoid the look Draco Malfoy was giving me. I had let it slip last year that I had been abused, but so far he had kept his mouth shut to Zabini. He hadn't even used it as ammo to tease me with, which was something coming from Draco Malfoy.

"How bad was your mum? Did Marcus or anyone else give you any problems?" I asked.

He rolled his eyes, "Marcus moved to some Northern country, like Norway or something, to be with his girlfriend—some girl at Durmstrang. Graham Montague hasn't come close to me since I broke his nose. My mum isn't one for physical punishment. She mostly just stayed on my back about my appearance, and how I needed to rebuild my reputation."

I finally looked at Malfoy and back at Blaise, "Is that why we're sitting with… him?"

"Oh what, I'm not a 'cold-blooded death eater', anymore?" Draco said coldly, his pretty grey eyes glaring down on me, trying to make me feel small and tiny and worthless.  
Wait… I just called Draco Malfoy's eyes pretty. Oh. My. Merlin. I felt like gagging and hitting my head against the carriage door. Someone shoot me. Somewhat hit me with a killing curse. SOMEONE PUNCH ME IN THE FACE.

"I don't know, Malfoy, are you still a cold blooded Death Eater?" I asked, glaring back at him.

"I'm exactly the same as I was the night of the Cup." He said through gritted teeth.

"The same guy that thinks that it's okay for a muggle boy to be tortured by death eaters?" I growled. "The same guy that _knew_ there was going to be an attack and did nothing?"

"That makes me heartless?" He asked.

"Well it sure doesn't make you anything else!" I exclaimed.

Draco gave Blaise a look, and they seemed to be communicating with their eyes. Finally Draco just rolled his eyes and looked out the window. Blaise turned and shook his head at me. "Why can't you Gryffindors just play nice with others?"

"Says the Slytherin." I muttered, rolling my eyes.

"Well, Draco is being nice enough to let me be seen with him every now and then in order to help me restore my reputation, so try to be a bit friendlier with him."

"Awe, does Malfoy want me lay off some?" I said in a mocking manner, "What's the matter Malfoy—afraid I'll give you a black jaw _again_?"

Draco snapped his head towards me, "Oh no, I'm more worried that you'll levitate me in the air… you know, if you were able to perform a first year charm."

"Why would I need to charm you when I can stick my foot up your—"

"Valica," Blaise interrupted, sighing. "Drake, _chill_." He tapped his leg again and rubbed his face, before turning to me, as if he wanted to block out the sight of Draco. "My Gryffindor moment from last year has officially ended. I've got start playing by the rules a bit more."

"What rules?" I asked, but I was starting to panic a bit. A cold feeling was starting ease over me.

He shifted uncomfortably, "The rules I grew up with."

"If you're going to turn into a Draco Malfoy, please just tell me and get it over with." I snapped.  
I thought I heard Draco mutter 'Like he could pull _this_ off.', but that would have been kind of funny, and he would have been using harmless humor, and Draco Malfoy just doesn't do that.

He groaned, "No, not like that. It's like… _ugh_. I've had to make some tough decisions, but it doesn't just concern you. I'm going to make it not concern you."

"Like what?" I asked, raising my eyebrows.

He shook his head, "It's not something that concerns you." I tried not to get my feelings hurt at that. "But I've realized that it would be better to start blending in more with my kind. I've got to stop acting like such a blood-traitor."

"And how exactly are you going to do that?" I asked, raising an eyebrow.

"No more walking to the Gryffindor table." Astoria muttered.  
"Don't call other Slytherins ignorant." Draco growled quietly.  
"Be a bit less… happy." Astoria added.  
"Don't insult the rich powerful people that can crush you like a grape." Draco said bitterly.  
"Don't read muggle books." Astoria said, as if she was talking to a child.

"Don't make friends with the most Gryffindor of them all." Draco finally said, glaring coldly at me.

I kept my eyes on Blaise. "So we can't be friends anymore?"  
What the hell was this? What made him change so much?  
A felt like an ice sickle had sliced straight into my heart, and it seems as if lately my pain has transferred straight into anger.

"No!" He said, his face turning slightly panicky and desperate. "No, Valica, that's not what I'm saying. That's what I'm trying to tell you, you're the exception to all of this." He groaned for what seemed like the billionth time. "I don't know how to tell you this without putting you in a bad situation."

At this point though, I wasn't hearing much of what he said. It's like that when I get angry. It almost blocks out everything else, and things get muddled up inside my head. All I could put together was that one of my friends had changed even more drastically than I had. He had went from this kid that I had respected for standing up for what he believed in, to some guy that was hiding in the background, too afraid, and too… too…  
I tried not to think the word _Slytherin, _but it was already there.

"I thought you said you weren't turning into a Draco Malfoy."

"Valica, I'm not!" He said, his voice turning more frustrated and angry.

"You're right. At least Malfoy can pick a belief and stick by it…" I spat, fury overflowing. At that exact moment, the carriage came to a stop. I stood up, grabbed my cloak off the seat, and exited the carriage into the storm. "And he has nicer hair!" I shot, before slamming the door of the carriage shut. As I stomped angrily away, I felt the anger dull just enough to let the pain flood in. I felt tears well in my eyes and stopped in shock. I squeezed my eyes shut, trying to force the tears, but the only wetness on my cheeks was from the rain.  
_Let me cry_. I silently pleaded, but it was in vain. The pain itself receded into a type of numbness that left me feeling broken and empty.

Something cold and wet hit me, soaking me thoroughly again. My eyes flew open in surprise and my fists clenched, almost as if I was prepared for Jasper to be behind the attack. But it wasn't, of course. I glared daggers at the culprit—Peeves the Poltergeist who blew me a raspberry and threw another water balloon at me. I managed to duck it, but another one hit me in the side of the face, this time stinging a bit. It reminded me to much of a blow to the face… like Allister had hit me no more than two weeks ago. The fury turned my vision red, but before I could react, a burning sensation ripped the top of my leg, causing me to yelp in pain. Looking down, I realized my wand was burning so hot that it was burning through the pocket of my black robe and scolding my leg. Fiery sparks were shooting out of the end and getting in my black shoes and burning into my socks.  
"_Ouch_, ow, _ow!_" I muttered stamping my feet and removing my wand from my leg. I held it in the rain, ignoring the burn against my hand, until it cooled off in the rain.  
I hadn't even been in the castle and I had already managed to lose a best friend, and probably piss off my first boyfriend.  
_Please don't be an omen_.

* * *

Blaise didn't get out of the carriage right away. Draco and Astoria sat there watching him, trying to anticipate his reaction to the angry girl that had just stormed out of the wagon.

"She doesn't get it." Astoria said, with bitterness in her voice. "You're better off without a Gryffindor anyway. The only things in their heads are rocks and anger. They don't belong with us." And with that, she stood up and exited the carriage, grumbling slightly at the rain.

Draco just sat there watching Blaise who had slumped into his chair and dropped his face into his hands. "You aren't going to start crying are you?"

"No," Blaise growled, before sighing deeply and lifting his head. "I'm not going to cry, you prat." He pulled up the hood of his cloak to avoid getting wet and ducked out into the rain. Draco followed behind him, letting the water fall on him.

Blaise shuffled in a somewhat daze. He was _not_ Draco Malfoy. He was _not _Draco Malfoy. He still didn't have the same beliefs as Draco did, he just didn't want to flaunt it this year.  
Was that cowardice?

It was in Valica's eyes any way.

He wanted desperately to go after Valica and apologize. But apologize for what? For wanting his Slytherin friends back? For wanting his mother off of his case? How was that something to apologize for? It wasn't just enough for him to be friends with her? No, he apparently had to be a blood-traitor or Gryffindor. But he wasn't a Gryffindor. And he wasn't a Weasley.  
He trudged up the steps leading to the entrance hall, the thoughts of Valica and a feeling of anger still clogging his mind.

"When you scowl like that, I can see how she would see the similarity between you and Malfoy."

Blaise looked up to see Astoria standing right outside of the entrance hall, drying her hair with her wand, and looking at him like he was an idiot. It was a common look coming from her.  
"I'm just trying to pull of the Slytherin look." He said, slipping off his cloak and ringing it out.

"You might want to duck." She said, pocketing her wand.

"Why would I-" He started to ask, but the answer come in the answer of a cackle, a loud splash, and freezing cold water hitting him in the back of his head. "What in Merlin?" He asked, peering up to see Peeves pulling the sides of his mouth and sticking his tongue out.  
He just rolled his eyes and glared at Astoria. "You could have warned me."

"I told you to duck."

"If you would have told me I was about to get hit with a water balloon, I probably would have ducked a bit faster."

"I told you to duck, so it's your fault for not ducking." She said, now lifting her nails and checking them under the dim lighting, waiting for him to ring his cloak out _again_. "You really should work on your reaction time."

"For a girl of twelve, you sure are a mature pain in the arse." He growled, pulling his cloak on and finally walking over next to her. He thought he saw a brief frown… a small one, just a twitch of the lips, but it was gone before he could get a good look.

"Don't do that." She said, as they walked together towards the entrance of the Great Hall.

"Do what?" He asked.

"Bring up my age like that. I may be two years younger than you, but we're on the same level." She said, frowning and pushing her newly dried curls over her shoulder.

"I never said that we weren't." He said, but she ignored him and kept walking. "Astoria, I mean that." He insisted, putting a hand out to stop her. When she looked him in the eyes, he was shocked to see something that looked like insecurity in them. "You're one of the few people I consider on my level."

"Just as long as I'm above the Gryffindor." She said, crossing her arms and beginning to walk away again, but Blaise could see her ease up slightly. She hadn't even taken a few steps before she stopped and spun around. "Are you alright?"

"What do you mean? Of course I am." He said, crossing his arms, mirroring her annoyed look.

"Don't do that." She demanded.

"What am I doing now?" He exclaimed, exasperated.

"Acting like I'm stupid. I _know _you_, _and I know how pathetically head over heels you are about that stupid Gryffindor. But this feast is important if you're serious about trying to get back on the Slytherin's good side. Now you decide right now if you really want to do this, or if you're going to go all blood traitor?"

Blaise sighed, "I've told you, Tori, I'm not going completely Slytherin again. I'm not going to go and kick Hufflepuffs or go all Stereotype. I've never been that guy. I just want to disappear into the background again, and I'm good at that. Trust me, I'll be fine."

"Are you sure you don't want to just-" She started.

"I'm positive." He cut her off.

"Don't do that." She said. At his questioning glance, she answered, "Don't cut me off mid-sentence."

He just shook his head, before letting his face fall back into a condescending look, completed with a scowl.  
It wasn't hard considering just the thought of Valica was enough to get him angry and annoyed again. And wasn't just her words that angered him, or the fact that she hadn't heard him out. It was the fact that she was able to have the effect on him. Draco and him had been best friends for over eight years and yet Draco and his fight last year didn't have this kind of effect on him. But one fight with Valica was enough to scare him half to death. And it angered him that he spent his whole summer missing her and had imagined seeing her face for the past two months, and now the only look he had earned from her was one of anger and… shame.  
"You look angry with the world." Astoria said, "Try for less Gryffindor and more Slytherin, please."

He screwed up his face and stuck his tongue out.

"Less Hufflepuff." She instructed, causing him to laugh aloud.

Shaking his head, his gestured for her to go ahead, and he followed her inside.  
He felt the eyes of his table on him, and refused to let himself get nervous.  
And then, suddenly, as clear as if she was right behind him, he heard Valica's voice in his head,  
_"Blaise whatever-your-middle-name-is Zabini! They sort you into houses because of your qualities, not because you're a death eater. You were put in Slytherin because you're cunning, resourceful, and ambitious. None of those qualities are bad, unless you have them to the extreme."  
_It was what she had said to him last year, the day they had talked after Christmas Break. The same day he gave her the necklace that she had worn every day last year. Was she wearing it today?  
It was the same day she had gave him those blasted Narnia books that had made him so mad this summer.  
It was the same day he had picked her up and spun her around.  
It was the same day he had told her that his middle name was Julius.  
And it happened to be the same day that he realized it was extremely probable that he was in love with a Gryffindor.

And it was this moment, with her voice speaking in his mind that he realized that no matter what, he couldn't lose her. He would go through all the beatings, he would lose all of his friends, and he would listen to his mum gripe for hours all over again, just as long as in the end, he had her.  
But he was going to try really hard to make her understand, so that he wouldn't have to.  
And a part of him was sure that she would understand, because she loved him too. Maybe not in the same way as he loved her, but it was still there.  
Somehow, that thought was enough to put a little more spring in his step. He lifted his head higher, and felt some of his earlier arrogance return. He wasn't a Gryffindor. He was a Slytherin.  
A Slytherin that was in love with a Gryffindor.  
And he belonged in this House.

* * *

I entered the Great Hall shivering and sopping wet. There wasn't any part of me that was dry. I walked across the hall and to the Gryffindor table where students were just now sitting down and talking. I found Harry, Ron and Hermione further up the table with a chair saved next to Ron for me. Harry was talking to a boy I recognized as Colin Creevey, a boy a year below us with a very annoying camera.  
In order to get to them however, I had to pass the twins and their friends. I figured I owed them (George) an apology anyway, but it was with reluctance that I made my way to them (him). George spotted me first, and frowned for a few seconds. And then shockingly… he started laughing. Fred, Lee and the other boy they were talking to, who I had only seen in the halls, looked at him in confusion, before following his gaze to me. I hadn't even reached the table, when George got up from his seat and made his way down to me.

"Why are you laughing?" I asked him as soon as he was in hearing distance.

"Because you're adorable when you're angry and nervous." He teased.

Once he made it to me, he glanced me up and down—taking in my soaking wardrobe, my wand that was steaming slightly, and the overall angry aura that was coming off of me.

"I'm horrible at this girlfriend thing." I admitted.

"Yeah, you are." He said, and I couldn't tell if he was really teasing or not. "So it's a good thing you're good-looking, and I _really_ like you."

"So your dating me for my looks, are you?" I asked, smiling, as he pulled me off to the side of the Great Hall, away from the Gryffindor table.

"Well _that_ and because you punch Slytherins in the face." He said, smiling goofily back. "You look like you want to kick a cat."

I snorted, "If it's Mrs. Norris, I can always kick her."

"She's not a cat… she's some type of demon."

I chuckled appreciatively, before peering up at him. "You aren't mad at me?" I asked, "I promised you I would ride with you."

He chuckled, "It was just a carriage ride, Valica. It's not the end of the world." He cleared his throat, "And plus, I've learned that it's best to let you get un-angry, before questioning you. So I'll just ask you about it later… or maybe tomorrow… or maybe never."

I blinked, not catching on. "But I _promised_ you that I would ride with you."

"I'll let you break this one, okay? Just don't let it happen again" He said smiling, and teasing in the last part. He reached his hand forward to wrap two of his fingers around a lock of my short hair, and rung the water out. "Peeves get to you?"

"Can you tell?" I asked, chuckling. I was very aware of how heavy my cloak was with water, and the amount of water that was dripping off my cloak and forming large puddles. I was also aware of how warm George's hands were, and how close they were to my face… and how close he was to me.

"Yeah, I can…" He murmured, his goofy smile fading a sweeter one. "And just so you know… you owe me now."

"For what?"

"For missing my carriage ride." He said, as if it was obvious.

"I thought you said it wasn't a big deal." I reminded him, raising my eyebrows.

"I lied." He said, grinning and lowering his head so that he could rest his forehead on mine. "And you broke a promise." He teased.  
And then like always, the next few moments slowed down into slow motion. The hand he had used to wring the water out of my hair, now cupped my chin and tilted my head up, while he reached down to press his lips to mine. I don't remember closing my eyes, but I did. My hands felt wrong just hanging at my sides, so placed them on his arms.  
It was like electricity had run through me and I was conscious of _everything_—every sound, every feeling, and every emotion boiling up inside me. The last of my anger that hadn't been diminished in the cold rain, ebbed away.  
I didn't, however, hear the catcalls from some immature students (Lee Jordan, Fred, Katie, etc.) I

"_Ooooooooooh_, Georgie, sorry to interrupt, but first of all, I'm hungry so you need to sit down so they can start the sorting, and secondly, that's just gross." Fred yelled from the table. I heard the snickers of several Gryffindors.  
I felt my cheeks warm up into a blush, and embarrassment rush through my veins. George however proudly placed another quick kiss on my lips, and wrapped his arms around me. "You want to sit with me?"

With his brown eyes, and the recent warmth that had flooded through only moments ago from his kiss, I couldn't bring myself to say no. So I just nodded, and let him escort me back to the table, his hand around mine. I cast a glance down to the trio to see Ron making gagging motions at me, Hermione grinning, and Harry with his trademark 'I-don't-even-know-how-to-react-to-this' face. I blew them a kiss and mock-glared at Ron.

Before long the soaking wet first years entered, and were led up into the front of the Great Hall, right in front of the teacher's table. I overlooked the group of nervous, jittery eleven years old and tried to imagine what I may have been like had I been sorted at the front of the hall like everyone else had been… probably just a jumpy and nervous.

The hall quieted down as Professor McGonagall came forward with a battered old hat and placed it on a stool. We waited with nervous anticipation until finally the hat opened it mouth;  
"_A thousand years or more ago  
When I was newly sewn,  
There lived four wizards of renown,  
Whose names are still well known:_

Bold Gryffindor, from wild moor,  
Fair Ravenclaw, from glen,  
Sweet Hufflepuff, from valley broad,  
Shrewd Slytherin, from fen.

They shared a wish, a hope, a dream,  
They hatched a daring plan  
To educate young sorcerers  
Thus Hogwarts School began.

Now each of these four founders  
Formed their own house, for each  
Did value different virtues  
In the ones they had to teach.

By Gryffindor, the bravest were  
Prized far beyond the rest;  
For Ravenclaw, the cleverest  
Would always be the best;

For Hufflepuff, hard workers were  
Most worthy of admission;  
And power-hungry Slytherin  
Loved those of great ambition.

While still alive they did divide  
Their favourites from the throng,  
Yet how to pick the worthy ones  
When they were dead and gone?

Twas Gryffindor who found the way,  
He whipped me off his head  
The founders put some brains in me  
So I could choose instead!

Now slip me snug about your ears,  
I've never yet been wrong,  
I'll have a look inside your mind  
And tell where you belong!

"

Loud applause filled the hall as the hat finished, and bowed dramatically. Then McGonagall started to name off the student's names.

Stewart Ackerley was the first one called and was sorted into Ravenclaw.

The next boy who was called was Malcolm Baddock, a slim but gangly fellow with dark black hair. He was sorted into Slytherin, and the far side of the hall erupted into loud cheers. I watched as Draco Malfoy clapped loudly. He sat with Crabbe on one side and Pansy Parkinson on the other. She kept placing her head on his arm, and he would move his arm away. Next to Pansy was a blonde headed girl that I recognized as Daphne Greengrass. Her sister was sitting several seats down next to Theodore Nott on one side, and on the other was none other than Blaise. He was sitting straight and proud. A cold smirk was placed on his face, and he muttered something to the girl in front of him that was named Tracey… something. She laughed loudly and I noticed she was twirling her hair around her finger. Blaise just winked at her, and looked back at the sorting.

I turned my head away from him and focused back on the Sorting.

I clapped as a Dennis Creevey, a young awkward boy who reminded me of Neville Longbottom joined Gryffindor.

Finally, the sorting was over, and Dumbledore stood to tell us to 'Tuck in', which caused the golden plates and goblets to be filled.

"Food!" Katie yelled, her impish features lightly up. "Yay, finally!"

"For someone so little, you can eat like a giant." Fred said, loading his plate with chicken wings, mashed potatoes, and rolls.

"Oh like your one to talk," She said, sticking her tongue out. "You and George can pack food away faster than anyone. I swear you two each have two stomachs."

"But dearest Katie, we're beaters," George pointed out.  
"Which means we need energy," Fred added,  
"So that we can _beat_ things." George finished, taking a bite of Yorkshire pudding.

I chuckled, and shook my head, filling my plate with a few chicken wings and a roll, content to just listen to the noise around me. I hadn't realized how much I had missed the loud noise of conversations in the Great Hall around me.

"So that Gryffindor crush, Valica?" Angelina brought up, grinning at me.

"He turned me down, so I settled with George." I said, smirking.

George elbowed me lightly, and scrunched his face into a false pout. "_Liar_."

I just laughed and shook my head, "_Brat_."

Finally, after we had eaten more than we should have, the food disappeared. Silence fell over the hall as Dumbledore got up to deliver his speech.

"So!" Dumbledore said, smiling in his trademark I-love-everbody way. "Noow that we are all fed and watered, Mr. Filch has asked me to tell you that the list of objects forbidden inside the castle has been extended to include Screaming Yo-yos", I smiled, considering I knew that Fred and George were selling them, "Fanged Frisbees," Those too, "and Ever-Bashing Boomerangs" Check. "The full list comprises some four hundred and thirty-seven intems, I believe, and can be viewed in Mr. Filch's office, if anyone would like to check it."

"We should check it out, Gerogie." Fred whispered.

"We can make another treat box consisting of the things that annoy Filch the most." George whispered back.  
"They would sell faster than we could make them." Fred grinned; mirroring George's excited facial expression.

"You two are going to end up in _so_ much trouble one of these days." I muttered, shaking my head.

"Now Valica," Fred chided,  
"Don't you go," George chimed in,  
"Turning into Percy on us." Fred finished.

"I am much better looking than Percy, thank you!"

"Yes, yes you are." George whispered, putting his arm around me. It was a little too close for comfort, and I was definitely feeling out-of-place. But it wasn't necessarily a bad feeling… especially considering that George Weasley happened to give this feeling quite often.

We turned our attention back to Dumbledore who had just gone over the reminder that the Forbidden Forest was off limits. "It is also my painful duty," He continued, "to inform you that the Inter-House Quidditch Cup will not take place.

Valica heard Harry gasp from where she sat, but she was worried about Fred and George at the moment. Their mouths had both went slack, and gaped open. They started opening and closely their mouths—mouth soundlessly as if they were to appalled to even produce sound.

"Wait for his reason." I whispered, "Before you two freak out, wait to see why."

"This is due to an event that will be starting in October, and continuing throughout the school year, taking up much of the teachers' time and energy—but I'm sure you will all enjoy it immensely. I have great pleasure in announcing that this year at Hogwarts—"  
Before Dumbledore could finish talking, thunder shook the building, and the doors of the Great Hall burst open.

In the doorway stood a man that made the hair on the back of my neck stand up, and Goosebumps rise on my arms. I couldn't get a very good look at him, but for some reason I just _knew_ that I wouldn't like what I would see.  
As the man started walking towards the front of the hall, a loud clunking noise filled the hall as his left leg stood a step.

As he reached the front, a flash of lightning illuminated the man's face. It was only for a few seconds, but it was enough for me to take in his features.  
His whole face seemed to be carved from wood by an inexperienced carver that had no idea what he was doing. There were scars covering his face, including a chunk of nose that appeared to be missing.  
But his eyes (or should I say _eye) _was the worst part. One of was normal, and dark. The other however, protruded from his head, and larger than a normal eye. It was electric blue and it seemed to see everything, as it moved ceaselessly; up, down, backwards, and just rolling from side to side.

"I think I'm going to be sick." Katie whispered. Alicia's mouth open in horror, and Angelina's eyes couldn't have gotten any bigger.

I don't know what my face must have looked like, but it wasn't terrified.  
I wasn't scared of scars or marred features. Scars always came from somewhere, and from the amount of them on this man's body, I could tell he was tough. The fact that the man had lost a leg and an eye, yet was still walking around told me he was a fighter. From the way his eye darted around, taking in every person, and that he carried a flask on his hip, I could tell he was a paranoid person.  
Tough, a fighter, and paranoid—why did that sound familiar?  
This man had only just walked into the hall, yet I already was building some kind of grudging respect. I would have to keep my eye out.

Finally the man made his way to the seat next to Dumbledore, and shook Dumbledore's hand.  
"May I introduce our new Defense Against the Dark Arts teacher?" said Dumbledore brightly into the silence. "Professor Moody."

I remember last year, when my father had been introduced as the Defense Against the Dark Arts teacher, the whole hall, except maybe the Slytherins, had applaud politely. Now, there was silence. Only Dumbledore and Hagrid clapped, and I didn't hesitate before clapping along with the two of them.  
Dumbledore looked down the hall at me, and I thought I saw him smile at me.

"Mad-Eye Moody?" Alicia muttered, "In case you've forgotten, I was raised in the muggle world. Who is Mad-Eye Moody?"

I was wondering the same question, and Lee Jordan answered, "He's an ex-Auror, _really_ good at what he did, but he retired. Most say he's paranoid to the extent that he's mad."

"_Shh_." Angelina shushed him, "I want to hear why we're not having a Quidditch Tournament this year."

Dumbledore cleared his throat, "As I was saying, we are to have the honor hosting a very exciting event. It is my very great pleasure to inform you that the Triwizard Tournament will be taking place at Hogwarts this year."

"You're JOKING!" Fred exclaimed loudly enough to carry through the entire hall, breaking the tension and causing for the tables to erupt in laughter.

"No, Mr. Weasley, I'm not joking." Dumbledore chuckled, "Thought now that you mention it, I did hear an excellent one over the summer about a troll, a hag, and a leprechaun who all go into a bar…"

Professor McGonagall cleared her throat and I chuckled.  
"I know that joke." George whispered.

"Anyway, maybe this isn't the time for that joke. Now where was I? Ah yes, the TriWizard Tournament…"

The hall was perfectly quiet as he explained what the TriWizard Tournament was, who was involved and the reason why it was cancelled.

"That doesn't sound very safe." Alicia whispered, "It was cancelled for a reason."

"Flying in the air hundreds of feet above the ground isn't safe either, but you play Quidditch." George pointed out.

"I'm going for it." Fred hissed, and I could tell her was already enthused at the thought of the galleons he would win if he won. He wasn't the only one though. I could see it on almost every person in the Hall's face, including George, Lee, and further down the table, Ron's.  
Their happy faces vanished however as Dumbledore laid out an age-limit of seventeen.

"What!" Fred yelled.  
"That's rubbish!" George followed up with.

I, on the other hand, was very pleased. The last thing I needed on my nerves were either my boyfriend, or my best friends competing in a Tournament known for resulting in fatalities.

Soon after, Dumbledore released us, and I left the twins for my trio.  
"It would be pretty cool to win something like that." Ron said, as we made our way to portrait. "But I suppose we haven't learned enough, considering we're only in fourth year."

Wait a moment, was Ron Weasley actually being reasonable?

"I definitely haven't." Neville said gloomily, "Reckon my gram would want me to try though. She's always going on able how I should be upholding the family honor. I'll just have to—Ooops."

We turned to see that he had missed a step and fallen into a trick stair. Harry and Ron pulled him out and Ron banged down the visor of a nearby laughing suit of armor.

Not even ten minutes later, I was in bed, listening to Hermione mutter about house elves, and slave labor. I found myself thinking about my dad, wondering where he was, and what he thought about all of this.

I fell asleep thinking about my dad, but my dreams were of course about my mum.

* * *

**Author's Note: Read and Review PLEASEEEEE**  
Responses:  
MizzAlecVolturi- I love how your always the first to review! Hope you enjoyed the chapter!

HPFan101- I always look foward to your reviews, I hope you know that! Thanks for understanding, and I hope you loved the chapter!

ChaserVine7928- You can stop waiting, it's up! Thanks for reviewing :)

Chino- Thanks! Let me know what you think. Thanks for reviewing

Myself- It's weird responding to your review because I feel like I'm responding to 'Myself' as in me... yeah. xD But thanks for your review, and sorry about the grammar. Most people wouldn't believe that I'm in an advanced English class. When I write I kind of just lose myself(as in me) in my imagination, and by the time I finish, I just scan over it and check it. Sorry though. I'll keep an eye out for the 'And Plus'.

Maria075- I loved your long review! It made my day! Sorry for subjecting to you to such a cliff hanger. Their argument probably just made it worse. And I'm going to put a lot more of George in this book, and I've got several scenes in my head that will really show off his better side(the not jealous one) and why Valica has a crush on him! Your English is fine, don't worry about it, and please keep giving me long reviews! :DDD

~Nic


	11. First day back

**_Draco_**

Draco Malfoy was awake early this morning, which wasn't surprising. He was a restless sleeper, and he always had been.  
He climbed out of his bed, and blinked sleepily. The room he was in was mostly black and silver, but everything had a greenish tint since one of the walls was actually a window that peered into the murky green waters of the Great Lake. This also meant that the air was cooler too, but Draco was used to it. He pushed himself off the bed and padded over the window to peer out into the lake. He could make out a few average Grindylows and a few boring fish.  
It was still peaceful and Draco Malfoy ran a hand through his hair and tried to let the quietness wash away his nightmares from the night before.

The silence was interrupted by a loud snore from Goyle. Draco frowned and turned to glare at the sleeping boy for demolishing the quiet morning atmosphere, but the boy slept on, now snoring steadily. He shook his head and turned back to the window, placing his head on the cool glass surface.  
Another snore blended in with Goyle's, this one from Crabbe's bed. Draco didn't even bother turning around, and just rolled his eyes.

"Either you shut those two gits up, or I'll shut them permanently." Blaise growled from his bed.

Draco chuckled drily and closed the curtains around Crabbe and Goyle's bed, before performing a silencing charm around the two of them.

"Thanks." Blaise muttered sleepily.

"Mhm." Draco answered, and he heard the deep breathing of his friend signaling that he had fallen back asleep.

Draco stared at his friend's bed for a moment and shook his head. Blaise was a good friend. Blaise was his _best_ friend. Blaise was most likely his only trustworthy friend that wasn't a complete idiot. That's the only reason Draco was going through all of this trouble for him, and why he had put up with everything Blaise had done.

_He's still a blood traitor_. He thought to himself. _He still thinks I'm wrong…_

He sighed, and whispered aloud to himself, "He's _still_ my best friend."

He still thought his best friend was an idiot though—to trade everything up for a girl.

_Valica. _That girl made him want to hex something or someone. She was just so _irritating. _She was in so many ways just the stereotypical Gryffindor. She had anger issues, stubborn as all get out, opinionated, up Potter's arse, and unable to keep her feelings in check.  
She was also a blood traitor, the daughter of a _werewolf_, and one of Potter's closest friends.  
He remembered what she had said to him, almost a year ago, when he had listed most of the reasons above for the reasons why he couldn't stand her. She had said that his reasons for disliking her sucked, and that there were plenty of other reasons to dislike her. She had been right about that.  
Like how about the fact that she knew how to get inside your head and create a whirlwind. He frowned as he remembered the night a few weeks ago when she had muddled his thoughts by telling him that she had higher expectations for him than everyone else, and for a brief moment he had been _happy_ about that. What was that about? He was calling him a cold-blooded git one moment and then telling him that she had _faith_ in him? She deserved a room in St. Mungo's, she did.  
And she had a quick-witted comeback for _everything. _He had never had someone that could snap back so quickly, and shoot so low with her insults.  
He could also mention the fact that she had basically turned his own best friend against him last year.  
And she was such a hypocrite. She had been constantly at him last year for not sticking up to Blaise and being a bad friend, yet even after she had found out that she was the reason for Blaise's punishment, she continued being around.

Not to mention she had _punched_ him in the face… twice.

_But maybe she'll be disappearing soon_, Draco told himself, _seeing as she was mad at Blaise last night for deciding that he didn't want to be her own personal toy._

He sighed, grabbed his clothes from his trunk, and made his way to the bathroom to start getting ready, the thought of not having to deal with Valica Quem anymore putting much more pep in his step.

As he started to get ready, Draco's mind remained on the annoying girl that had entered his life because of his (stupid) best friend. Of all the girls for Blaise to choose from, why did it have to be _her_? She wasn't even fit!

Well… not really, anyway. The only thing she had really had going for her that he had ever noticed was her eyes. And the only reason he had ever noticed those is because she happened to _plow_ over him on the stairs, and he had landed on top of her.  
(Add that to the list of things that he didn't like about her—her clumsiness.)  
But even he had to admit that those eyes were something special. They had so many different shades and twists in them. And while certain emotions such as anger— always anger— was present, behind the anger, you could tell that she was hiding something.

He grunted and rolled his eyes. So what? They were just eyes… they were the only thing special about her appearance… the _only_ thing she had going for her.  
Well _that_ and she had nice skin… when she didn't have dark lines under her eyes and she wasn't all sickly pale. Blemish wise, though, her skin was quite clear.  
But that was it.  
And her shape had been alright last year… when she wasn't all super scrawny and everything.

He combed his hair neatly, but he knew it wouldn't last that way. He had developed a habit a while ago of running his hand through his hair when he got frustrated or nervous… and lately, with Blaise-the-Blood-Traitor becoming his friend again, he got frustrated a _lot_.

'_At least Malfoy can pick a belief and stick with it.' 'And he has nicer hair!'_

Those were Valica's words from last night. How dare she compliment him after she had called him a death eater only moments before that? She was right though. His hair was much better than Blaise's.

'_She has nice hair too' _He thought to him. It was so many different colors, mainly a mix between blonde and brown that made it hard for him to distinguish which one to call it. Then there was the highlights in it… the reddish brown streaks, and the medium-brown streaks, and the blonde ones. It was almost as varied as her eyes.  
Alright, maybe she was fit.

He froze as he realized that he had just complimented Valica. Not to her face, no, but in his mind. That was just as bad.

He splashed water on his face, before finishing getting dressed, unable to get the frustrating girl from his mind. He insulted her over and over again mentally, to make up for the mental compliment.

Before he had even walked out of the bathroom, his hair was messy.

* * *

_**Valica**_

Hermione didn't have to wake me up. I was just lying there, basking in the fact that I was back in Hogwarts, when she came over to my bed to wake me up.

"Well this is a nice surprise." She commented. "I've already got a glass of water off to the side in case you refused to wake up."

"You know me too well." I chuckled. She rested on the edge of the bed, and looked at me.

"You okay?" She asked, worry clear in her voice.

"Yup." I said, popping the p at the end. "It's just nice to be back… to be home, you know?"

"I definitely know." She said, nodding. "It's like… even when I'm home over the summer; it's not really _home_, not without Ron, Harry, and you." She chuckled, "This TriWizard Tournament is trouble, I tell you… I just have a bad feeling."

"I think your paranoid behavior could rival Mad-Eye Moody's," I teased lightly, but I nodded, "But you're probably right about it causing some trouble. As far as I can tell, Harry and Ron are perfectly capable of finding trouble anywhere… this TriWizard Tournament is just asking for shenanigans."

"Like you're one to talk!" She muttered hitting me in the head with a pillow, "You attract trouble, like honey attracts bees." She got off the bed and tugged on the sleeve of my large sleeping t-shirt. "Come on, we're going to be late!"

I threw the pillow at her receding figure and shook my head, chuckling. Parvarti and Lavender exited the bathroom with linked arms and giggling about who-knows-what.

"_Oh _Valica, I meant to tell you last night, but I forgot! I absolutely love your hair!" Lavender squealed in that way that reminded me of Katie. "I know you don't do much with your hair, but you should _totally_ let me do something with it… if you would just let me curl it. I'm sure George would _absolutely_ love it! Or you could let me straighten it and add some accessories-" She continued to babble on, but I faded out, not hearing anything she said. A wave of nostalgia had hit me like a brick wall. Hearing Lavender's rambling about my hair and George, reminded me so much of Phoebe that I got a lump of emotion stuck in my throat.  
Her face swam in front of me, with her big milk chocolate eyes, and her board-straight straw blonde hair that hadn't been cut in almost six years, so that it reached her waist. I thought about the way she used to use rip her old black shirts into pieces and make bandanas to put in her hair, and bows.  
I remembered the first day Gale and I had saw her and Alek walk through the doors. I had been eleven, she had been twelve. She had walked in the orphanage in a purple shirt, a lavender headband, sparkly polish on her nails, and tear stains down her face. I remember Gale snorting, and me thinking that the girl would be dead in a week.  
I remember slowly learning to trust her and accept that underneath all the naïve and girly outside layers, there was a good friend with a strong heart, and so much light on the inside that it made her glow.

I remember her squealing two and a half months ago when I approached her, Alek, and Gale after leaving my Hogwarts friends. I remember her running and hugging me, and squeezing me too tight. I remember her demanding then and for the next two weeks to tell me who the cute guy that kissed my forehead (George) was and everything about him.  
Goodness, I missed her.

Lavender was still talking, and she hadn't noticed me blank out. Parvarti had now joined in with a list of suggestions of what they could do with my hair.

"That would be great!" I lied, in order not to hurt their feelings.

"Can we do it for the next Hogsmeade?" Lavender asked.  
"Oh, pretty _pretty_ please." Parvarti threw in.  
"George would sure enjoy it." Lavender added as an afterthought.

I tried not to choke in horror, and ended up coughing. "Uh-um, we'll see."

Once they had left, I turned back to Hermione who I could hear giggling in the bathroom, "Oh shut it, you!"

I slipped on my white button up shirt that I had to tuck into my pleated grey skirt. It took me a few minutes to relearn how to tie my Gryffindor striped tie, but I eventually got it. Hermione, who had gone to take a shower, was extremely upset to find there was no hot water left from Parvarti and Lavender's morning routine. Therefor it took her longer to get ready, and I wanted to wait for her. Then, because I'm a procrastinator, I remembered that I had forgotten to transfer my books from my trunk to my over-shoulder bag. By the time we were done, we had to race down the stairs, in a hurry to get to breakfast in time to eat.

"Did you forget to brush your hair?" She asked, as I growled, running down the stairs, and running my fingers through my tangled hair.

"Yes!" I muttered as we finally made it down to the common room.

Ron and Harry were sitting there, talking to the twins.

"Well it took you girls long enough." Ron said, his eyes landing on us.

"Oh be quiet," I growled, "There wasn't any hot water, and I have _way_ too many books in my bag since I don't know what classes we're taking today, and for the first time all summer, I'm glad my hair is short."

Harry and Ron were both staring at me, blinking dumbly. "_What_?" I snapped.

"Valica…" Harry started, before shaking his head.  
"You _actually_ just sounded like… a girl." Ron finished for him, his mouth hanging open.

I rolled my eyes and sent him the finger. "Arse."

"Your timetable, Miss. Quem," Professor McGonagall said from behind me. "Or should I say, Miss. Lupin."

I whirled around in my seat at the Gryffindor table to grin at the lady that loomed above me. She handed me my timetable and nodded before handing Ron, Hermione and Harry their time tables. Harry was sitting next to me and he scanned over his classes.

Ron, who was sitting across from me and next to Hermione, didn't hardly glance at his, knowing that he would have had the same thing as Harry, and he was too busy stuffing his face with porridge. "How many classes with the Slytherins?" He asked, not bothering to cover his mouth.

"Three." Harry answered, "Care of Magical Creatures today, Potions tomorrow, and Double Potions on Friday."

"Ugh, Double Potions." Ron grunted.

"At least you've only got three classes with the Slytherins. On top of Potions and Care of Magical Creatures, I have several of them in my Ancient Runes class, and…"

"And what?" Ron asked, looking up. His eyes widened at my facial expression of pure horror and disbelief.

"Valica, breathe." Harry said, placing his hand on my shoulder. "Deep breathe in… deep breathe out."

"Is she okay?" Katie asked as she sat down across from me and next to Ron.

George was sitting on my left, and Fred was next to him and they were both peering at me curiously.

"Valica," George asked, poking my shoulder.  
"You alright?" Fred finished.

There were two or three more full seconds of silence before…  
"_Charms? Charms with the _SLYHTERINS!" I shrieked loudly. Several heads probably turned towards me but I didn't care. "Why do I have an extra charms class with the Slytherins?" I was almost hyperventilating. I spun around to look at Harry, "Do _you_ have an extra Charms?"

"U-um," He stuttered, fumbling for his time table and peering at it. "N-no."

I looked pleadingly at Hermione and Ron, who were sitting across from me. They both snatched for their time table, before shaking their heads at me.

"If _you_ don't have extra Charms, and _you_ don't have extra Charms…" I said, looking from each of member of my trio, "W-Why do I have an extra Charms class?" I was on the verge of going mad. I put my head into my hands and groaned.

"Well Valica, you're quite horrid at Charms, maybe they thought you needed extra classes." Hermione pointed out.

I glared at her slightly, and remarked sarcastically, "Because nothing will help my Charms grade better than Flitwick griping at me even _more_, even _more_ homework, an extra hours of me _screwing_ up, and to top it off, I have it with the stupid Slytherins!"

I rested my head on my left hand, picked up my fork with the other, and began picking at my kipper.

Ron chuckled around his bite of sausage, before swallowing and saying to Hermione, "Hermione, I don't think Valica's anger issues can handle another hour of Charms class with Slytherins."

"Well one good thing comes out of it… it means you get to spend more time with Blaise." George pointed out. He must have been trying to be kind, and supportive of my friendship with Blaise. However, it reminded me of Blaise and my former fight, and I could have sworn that an ice shard had entered my heart.

I looked over at the Slytherin table and found Blaise sitting at the end of the table, away from Malfoy and his goonies and most of the other Slytherins. He had always been the loner type. He had his cheek rested on his fist, and was talking to a boy across from him named Theodore Nott, a tall weedy boy with straw colored hair and a narrow nose. Next to him was Astoria Greengrass who seemed to be in deep conversation with the girl I had seen flirting… I mean 'talking'… with Blaise last night—Tracey… something. As I sat there and watched him throw his head back and laugh like he used to do with me, a dull pain filled my chest. _He doesn't even miss me._

I stabbed a piece of scrambled egg on my plate. "I would rather spend time with Malfoy." I said bitterly, letting the pain fade into slight anger.

"It's one Charms class, you'll be okay." George laughed and kissed the top of my head. He reached across the table to slap Ron on the side of the head for making gagging noises.

"It's not just _one_ Charms though." I groaned, "It's a Charms with the _stupid_ Slytherins."

"What's going on between you and Blaise?" Katie asked, taking a bite of toast.

"I don't want to talk about it." I said stiffly, "All I'm going to say is that he's a damned, fickle, cowardly _Slytherin_."

I looked up to see all six of my friends staring at me as if I had grown two heads. "What?"

"Well…" Ron started to say, but then he shook his head and started stuffing his face full of porridge again.

"Last year, you threatened us if we even _hinted-_" Fred started.  
"That we were going to insult him." George said.  
"And now, your over here insulting him-"  
"More than we've ever heard you insult someone."

I sighed and just shrugged, leaning my head on my hand… until I realized that that was the same position Blaise was sitting in, and I let my arm drop.

I peered at the time table in front of me and looked at the rest of the schedule.

_Monday  
1__st__-Herbolog—With Hufflepuff  
2__nd__-Care of Magical Creature—With Slytherins  
3__rd__- Free Period  
Lunch  
4__th__- Charms—With Slytherins_

_Tuesday  
1__st__-History of Magic  
2__nd__-Potions—with Slytherin  
3__rd__-Free Period  
Lunch  
4__th__- Ancient Runes  
Midnight- Astronomy—with Ravenclaws_

_Wednesday  
1__st__- Charms  
2__nd__-Transfiguration  
3__rd__-Free Period  
Lunch  
4__th__-Herbology—with the Hufflepuffs_

_Thursday  
1__st__- Transfiguration  
2__nd__-Free Period  
3__rd__- Ancient Runes  
Lunch  
4__th__- Double Defense Against the Dark Arts_

_Friday  
1__st__- History of Magic  
2__nd__-Charms  
3__rd__-Free Period  
4__th__-Double Potions—With Slytherins_

Hermione sighed. "I can't believe our O.W.L.s are next year."

"_Next _year, Hermione." I said, shaking my head, "You still have a whole other year before you have to worry about that."

"Valica, procrastination is the enemy of success."

"Hermione, Charms is the enemy of my success…" I said, biting my toast. Our discussion was interrupted as a loud whooshing filled the air. I had even missed the sound of the owls delivering the morning post.

"Hedwig's not here." Harry muttered. I looked up and saw that he was right, for his snow owl was nowhere to be found. However, I was shocked to see that Buddha flew in with a letter tied to her leg.  
I wasn't expecting letters from anyone. Harry and I had agreed that I should wait to write Sirius until Hedwig returned, because we didn't want to give away his hiding place by having two birds visit the same place.

"Maybe Professor Lupin decided he missed you already." Hermione put in.

"Moony had a job yesterday… he shouldn't have had time to write me and get it in by today." I commented. Finally, Buddha landed in front of my plate, her eyes hungry for bacon. I reached to grab the letter attached to her leg, but she pecked my hand before I had the chance.  
"Ow, you bratty little bird." I mumbled. I grabbed a piece of bacon off of a nearby platter and gave it to Buddha. She snapped it up in a few bites and then extended her leg.  
"Thank you." I pulled the letter off of her leg and looked at the handwriting on the outside that wrote my name. It was small and slanted, and kind of messy. But it was the most beautiful handwriting I could have seen.

At first, shock registered when I recognized the handwriting. Once that had faded, I made an excited squeal of sorts and tore open the envelope.

_I bet this is coming as a bit of a surprise… McGonagall mentioned it being some sort of late birthday present. But yeah, it's me, Gale… though you probably recognized the hand-writing given the fact that we've known each other for the past ten years.  
Then you should also know that I hate writing, and that I've never wrote a letter before. Nor have I seen an owl until last night when your owl swooped down to the edge of the Orphanage. McGonagall told me that she would send a black owl with white spots when she got the chance and that I should tie a letter to it. Is it odd that I found this odd? I don't think so.  
So I didn't really know what to put in this letter. I don't even know when you'll receive it.  
I'll just update you on what is going on then. Not much, actually.  
Phoebe misses you, I can tell. She actually tried to talk to me about the best way to do her hair. I think she knows that I don't care, but it makes her feel better, being able to talk to someone, so I've just let her talk. She never shuts up, does she?  
Alek is freaking out about leaving. He hasn't said anything, of course, he's trying to pull off the fearless façade. I can tell, though. He and Jasper have gotten in three fights since you left two weeks ago. That boy doesn't know how to keep his anger in check. Who does that sound like to you?  
There's not much to say about what's been going on with me. I've got a few detentions, but nothing too bad. I haven't really said much to anyone. It's weird not having you to talk to. I'm glad you're happy and safe. You still have my shirt that you sleep in, don't you? I realized this yesterday. I want that back, one day. I miss you, though. I miss your bad attitude and your sarcasm, and you surprising everyone with all the fury cooped up in your five' two figure.  
Stay safe.  
Gale_

"Valica, is everything alright?" George asked, snapping me out of my thoughts.

"Yeah," I said, clearing my throat of the emotion building up, "Yeah, everything's great." I folded the letter up and tucked it into my cloak. "Just a letter from one of my orphanage friends."

"Well we better head down to the Greenhouses." Harry said, standing up. I sent George a smile, and he kissed my forehead.

"Are you sure you're alright?" Harry asked me, as we walked out of the Great Hall.

I just shrugged, "I just miss some of my Orphanage friends, it's not that big of a deal."  
_Lies_.

"Wouldn't it be great to win the TriWizard Tournament?" Ron asked dreamily, oblivious to Harry and my conversation. "All of those galleons."

"It sounds unsafe." Hermione said uneasily.

"Yeah, but Dumbledore wouldn't let anything happen to us." Ron said, waving off Hermione's concern.

"Yes, but Dumbledore also put an age limit on the tournament, now didn't he?" Hermione argued lightly.

"I didn't even know there were other Wizarding schools." I commented. "Makes sense, I guess, but I never thought about it."

"Yeah, Beauxbatons and Durmstrang are the other two schools in Europe, but there's Bruxa de Escola in Brazil, and Salem Witches' Institute in America. Those are just the well-known ones."

"You lost me when you started speaking Spanish." I admitted.

"It's Portuguese." She corrected.

"It's not really important." I said, sticking my tongue out.

We pulled open the doors to the Greenhouse, and entered to see that we were the first Gryffindors to arrive. Several Hufflepuff students were already in here though, and Harry, Ron, and Hermione started up conversation with Justin Finch-Fletchley, who I had never carried out conversation with.

"Oi, its Valica, isn't it?" A sandy haired boy that I was standing next to, asked me.

"Um, yeah." I smiled. I had never talked to him before, but I had noticed him once or twice in this class.

"Ernie Macmillan," He laughed, seeing my confused expression. He took my hand and shook it vigorously. "You punched Malfoy in the face last year, right?"

"That's what I'm known for." I said, smiling.

"I was so disappointed when he came into the feast without a bruise on his face." He said sighing.

I just shook my head and chuckled lightly. "Well this is only the first day."

His grin widened, "That's very true."

Our conversation was interrupted as the rest of the class filed in, and I squeezed over next to Harry, Ron, and Hermione again.

Professor Sprout emerged from somewhere out of the back of the greenhouse holding an ugly looking plant that resembled a very fat squirming slug with large swellings filled with liquid.  
"Bubotubers," Professor Sprout explained, "The need squeezing. You will collect the pus—" She paused long enough for some of the students to stop gagging. "Yes, pus, and it's extremely valuable, so don't waste it. You'll collect it in bottles, and make sure to wear your gloves. I suggest you each break into groups of two—one squeezes the swelling, and one collects it."

So that's how I spent the first hour of my morning—squeezing swellings until they popped and shot out yellowish-green petrol-smelling liquid, which Hermione would capture in the bottle. By the end of the hour, five pints of pus had been collected and I feeling oddly satisfied.  
"I think I found a new meditation method for when I get angry." I whispered to Hermione, and she chuckled.

"An excellent remedy for the more stubborn forms of acne, bubotuber pus." Professor Sprout commented, "Should stop students resorting to desperate measures to rid themselves of pimples."

"Like poor Eloise Midgen," Said Hannah Abbott in a hushed voice, "She tried to curse hers off."

"Silly girl," said Professor Sprout, shaking her head, "But her nose got fixed on in the end."

"Remind me to never try to clear up my own acne." Hermione whispered to me.

Finally a booming bell echoed throughout the grounds, and we departed from the Greenhouses, the Hufflepuffs heading to the castle, and us Gryffindors heading the opposite way, towards Hagrid's hut.  
"At least the books don't try to eat us this year!" I said positively.

"But whatever Hagrid has us working on might." Ron pointed out.

"Well aren't you a negative Nelly." I muttered, sticking my tongue out.

"Says the one that had a minor meltdown at breakfast." He shot back.

"If you would have found out that you had an extra class with Malfoy, you would have reacted a _lot_ worse than that." I pointed out.

Hermione snorted, "His head would have blown right off of his shoulders."

I chuckled at the visual, and elbowed Harry next to me. He blinked as if awaking from some daydream, "You alright?" I asked curiously.

He shrugged, "I'm just worried about Sirius."

I sighed and patted his shoulder, "Me too... but I'm sure he's fine. He's probably just busy. Or maybe Hedwig is having a bit of trouble finding him. Or Hedwig needed a few days rest after traveling a long distance."

"Or maybe he's in trouble." Harry pointed out.

I groaned and slapped his shoulder, "Way to be positive." I succeeded in making a smile come to his face.

"I must admit, I'm a bit nervous about Hagrid's class." He whispered, as we stopped outside of the hut. We were pretty early for the class, since we didn't have to come from the castle. Hagrid was nowhere to be seen, but there was a crate a few feet away that was giving me funny feelings.  
I pointed to words on the side of the crate that read 'Danger, do NOT touch. Possible death.'  
"Yeah," I cleared my throat, "Me too."

We leaned against the wall of the hut and watched as Parvarti and Lavender threw nervous looks towards the crates. I couldn't help but chuckle.  
"Meanie," Harry whispered "Laughing at their fear."

"Like you aren't laughing inside." I shot back, smirking. He just grinned.

"So what was that letter about?" Harry asked. "I can tell it upset you."

I sighed before deciding to tell him what was really on my mind. "Like I said, it was just a letter from my orphanage friend. He's the kind that never expresses how he's feeling, and he stays pretty shut up inside his mind. In the letter, he just mentioned that he missed me… and he's never done that before." I paused and looked down at my feet, ashamed of what I was going to say next, "And it made me realize that I'm selfish for leaving him there."

"Because of the abuse?" He asked. He rolled his eyes when I looked up at him, my mouth agape, and shock clear in my eyes.

"How did you know?" I asked, before it dawned on me. "Hermione told you, didn't she?"

"We've discussed it, but I knew before then." He said simply.

"How?" I asked, "I've never told you."

"It wasn't hard to guess once I got to know you. Your belligerent attitude and the fact that you flinch every time someone hugs you didn't go beyond Ron and I's notice."

"Ron knows?" I exclaimed.

Harry grinned at me and nodded, before letting his grin fall, "Why didn't you tell me?"

"Because I didn't want you look at me like you felt bad for me. I don't like pity."

Before I could say anything else, Harry frowned and narrowed his eyes at someone or something over my shoulder. I turned to see Draco Malfoy approaching with his usual followers close behind. Pansy was drooling over him, pretty much jogging to stay up with his quick strides. Draco's expression was a mix of annoyance and impatience and I found myself wondering how long it would take him to snap and bite her head off. Crabbe and Goyle were flanking him, and somehow they managed to look stupid, even though they were only walking. Pansy's usual followers there too, though I didn't pay much attention to them.  
A little ways from them, I spotted Blaise Zabini, walking by Tracey Whatever-Her-Last-Name-Is. I took a moment to glare at them, before crossing my arms and scowling at the ground. Curse Blaise freaking Zabini for making me be mad at him.

"Are you ever going to tell me what he did?" Harry asked me.

"No…" I sighed, "Probably not. I don't even like to think about it, let alone talk about it."

"And you don't want to admit that Lee, Fred, and George may have been right about him."

"They weren't." I snapped out of reflex before wincing at my sharp tone, "Sorry. But they weren't right last year. He wasn't like this last year."

"Like what?" Harry asked, raising his eyebrows.

"All Slytherin acting, and worrying about his reputation." I frowned at the ground and dug the toe of my shoe into the dirt. "He wouldn't even considered abandoning me last year." I scowled angrily. "Especially not for stupid Draco Malfoy."

"So that's why you're mad at him? He left you for Draco Malfoy?" Harry asked me.

I sighed and nodded. He patted my back comfortingly and I sent him a small smile. At that moment the last of the Slytherins gathered, and Hagrid exited the cabin we were leaning against.  
I couldn't help but smile a little bit bigger. A lot of things may have changed, but Hagrid was still appeared to be his old self.

I let out a mix between a choked yell and a gasp as something heavy attacked me from the side, knocking me down to the ground, knocking the breath out of my lungs.  
"Fang!" I exclaimed as I opened my eyes to see the boarhound filling up my entire line of vision. "Get off of me, you big brute." But my angry exclamation dissolved as the dog whined and proceeded to lick my face with his oversized tongue. "Harry," I laughed, "Help."

"Come 'mere, Fang." Hagrid hollered, and thankfully the dog that seemed more like a horse to me, stepped off of me, relieving me of the two hundred pounds crushing the air out of me.

I heard several people chuckling, and I laughed along with them as Harry pulled me to my feet.

Hagrid was smiling behind his beard, and obviously trying to hide a laugh. "Valica, there's a barrel of water around the cabin if you want to rid your face of the slobber."

I may not have been a girly girl, but I would not tolerate dog slobber drying on my face. So I nodded and turned to make my way to the barrel of water. I accidently caught Blaise's eyes, and he was grinning like an idiot. It was a grin so similar to the ones we had shared last year, that for a moment I forgot we were in a stupid fight. We were back to being friends who shared books and jokes, and deep conversations.  
I remembered that less than twenty four hours ago, we had hugged on the train, and had hugged me so tightly that I couldn't breathe.

And then I remembered his betrayal, and once again the painful stabbing pain hit my heart and I looked away.

* * *

_**Blaise**_

Blaise didn't even have to fake the Slytherin sneer as Hagrid described the abominations that were in the wooden boxes.

"Isn't it illegal to breed two magical creatures without being licensed?" Draco muttered quietly to Blaise.

"Yes," Blaise sneered as one of the slimy looking creatures tried to sting Hagrid. "And for a very good reason."

"Bet we could have his job for this one." Draco said quietly, "Father always said that this man was unsuitable to teach, and even _you_ have to agree with that."

And Blaise did agree, but he didn't really want to tell Draco that, so he just remained quiet on that subject. "Don't tell your father, Draco. You already caused him enough trouble last year, and that got you absolutely nowhere. Dumbledore likes this man as the Care of Magical Creatures professor, therefor Hagrid will remain in this position. If you haven't noticed, Dumbledore is even better than your father at getting what he wants."

He couldn't help it as his eyes traveled over to Valica and where she stood with the trio. He had been trying to avoid her gaze almost all morning, for fear of what he would find in that gaze—anger, disappointment, hatred, maybe.

He desperately wanted to walk over there and call her an angry idiot and force her to forgive him.  
But he couldn't, because this was Valica, and he doubted she would separate from her trio to talk to him and shouting at her would do nothing but increase her rage.  
But he was going to have to do something soon, because her absence was driving him crazy.

"Is he off in la-la land _again_?" Someone asked next to him. Blaise turned to see Theodore Nott standing there, his arms crossed, and talking to Draco.

"More like Valica land." Draco muttered, frowning deeply.

"Oh shove off." Blaise grumbled, glaring at his two male friends harshly.

"So why don't you just apologize to her?" Theodore asked, raising his eyebrows.

"For many reasons." Blaise said, shrugging.

"Such as?" Theodore prompted.

"Pride," Blaise snapped, jutting his chin out, "The fact that I did absolutely nothing wrong, the fact that she's being totally stubborn, stupid, and…" He trailed off, not finishing that sentence.

"Completely and whole-heartedly a _Gryffindor._" Theodore finished for him.

Blaise glared at him coldly, "Even if I did apologize, she wouldn't accept."

"Why not?"

"_Because_ she's still angry. She won't listen to reason when she's mad." He explained, sighing. "Trust me. I've just got to wait for her to calm down a bit, and then I'll explain _without_ apologizing, and everything will be fine."

Theodore was silent for a moment, "You really should just apologize to her." He saw that Blaise was about to argue, and he held up his hand to stop him. "Even if she doesn't accept it, it will still bring attention to the fact that you are trying to make amends. So then, when she does get over her anger, she'll already see that you're sorry and she'll be quicker to talk and forgive you."

Blaise was silent for a moment, contemplating whether or not he should listen to Theodore's advice, when Draco rolled his eyes and interrupted his thoughts. "Honestly, Blaise…"

"What?" Blaise snapped testily, "Why are you looking at me like I'm a daft idiot?"

"Because you are a daft idiot." Draco replied nonchalantly, like this was the most obvious answer in the world.

Blaise opened his mouth to fire some kind of insult, but then thought better of it and closed his mouth. After a moment he asked, "Why am I a daft idiot, again?"

"You're trying to restore your reputation, and although you seem to be getting accepted back pretty quickly by _some_, there are many others, not to mention the parents, that are still going to be keeping an eye out. Haven't you ever considered that not having that girl in your life is the best thing?"

"No." Blaise said his face absolutely serious. "_That girl_ not being in my life would be the _worst_ thing to happen to me."

"Dude, you're obsessed." Theodore commented, looking at him oddly.

Blaise just rolled his eyes, and let his eyes travel back to Valica, who had gotten up the courage to grab a stick and poke at the slimy things that he had already forgotten the name of. She jumped back at the thing moved toward her, lost her footing and fell straight on her butt.  
Blaise chuckled quietly, and shook his head.

"What are you laughing at?" Blaise jumped about a foot in the air at the voice that seemed to materialize right next to him. He turned to see Tracey Davis standing there, eyeing him like he was mental.

Tracey Davis was single-handedly the most odd and amusing Slytherin girl Blaise had ever met. She had been raised within the same group of purebloods he had been. She had attended every gala, party, or get-together he had. He had never talked to her before a few weeks ago at the Quidditch Tournament, but that was a big surprise. He had never been much of a talker, and preferred to stand off to the side and watch the oblivious dopes mingle mindlessly.  
Tracey Davis, with her admittedly good looks, arrogant aura, and the fact that he had saw her more than once in Pansy Parkinson's group of giggly girls, had been classified in Blaise's mind as just another 'oblivious dope'.  
He couldn't have been more wrong.  
She was loud and flirtatious, a die-hard Irish National Quidditch fan, and rumored to be an exceptional Keeper. She looked down on not only mud-bloods, but also purebloods. In her mind, she was better than anyone and everyone around her, with extremely few exceptions, him not being one of them.  
Her hair was an average sandy blonde color that she had twisted into some weird fancy side braid. And her light brown eyes were captivating.  
Blaise Zabini had finally found a Slytherin girl his age that was on his level.

"Just letting you know, staring at her like a creepy stalker is not going to fix this problem." Tracey stage whispered, "Even if you do look hot with that stalker look on your face."

"I look hot with any look on my face." He stage whispered back.

She smirked, "Not arguing with you there."

He smirked back, "You never do."

She wrapped a lock of her loose dirty blonde hair around her finger and winked, "And I never will."

"Just snog already," Theodore muttered, interrupting Blaise and Tracey's flirtatious game. Draco had moved on to talk to Crabbe and Goyle, for whatever reason.

"Oh please, Theodore, like I would snog a blood traitor, no matter how good looking he is." She teased, her flirty smile challenging Blaise.

"Blood traitor or not," Blaise answered, turning to grin at her, "I am so out of your league."

She snorted as she turned to look at Valica, before sneering and turning back to him, "Obviously not."

Blaise's first reaction was to recoil and defend Valica, but he bit his tongue and crossed his arms, letting himself fall into the nonchalant pose that he had been using more and more these past few weeks.

Tracey rolled her eyes, "Oh don't get so defensive, Blaise. It was a joke…" She coughed and he could swear he overheard a '_maybe'_ in midst of it, but he ignored it.

"I'm not getting defensive," He said shrugging, "I'm just bored of you already." To prove his point he turned completely away from her to face the slimy lobster creatures that were still crawling around, emitting sparks every now and then.

He felt Tracey place one of her hands on his upper arm, and he turned to look at her. She didn't seem put off at all by his statement, and instead her lips were curled back into the usual flirty smirk she wore around him. "You want to know how I know your lying?"  
He met her light brown eyes, and cocked an eyebrow, trying to seem bored.

"Because _no one_ gets bored of me." She stage whispered, before winking and walking over to where Pansy was drooling over Draco.

Blaise had to admit that the girl was fit. And he was a teenage boy after all.

"That girl is nothing but absolute trouble." He told Theodore.

"Yup," Theodore admitted, "Absolute trouble wrapped in a very fine body."

Blaise just shook his head, and without even meaning to, looked over at Valica. What was it with him and troublesome girls.

As if sensing his gaze, Valica looked over at him and met his eyes.

"We have to talk." He mouthed at her.

"We already did." She mouthed silently back, before turning away to talk to Weasley.

* * *

**Author's Note **How you guys put up with me, I will never understand. I'm an awful person who doesn't deserve reviewers this amazing!  
I just wasn't happy with this chapter. I've rewrote different parts, before taking them out and putting the old ones in, to replacing those with another idea, and I just COULD NOT GET IT RIGHT. But I decided that you guys deserved SOMETHING, so here this is. It's probably one of the longest chapters I've done in a very long time.  
And now I'm on vacation for the time being.  
Has any of you ever been to the Harry Potter World section of Universal Studios in Orlando, Florida. I HAVE! It was amazing, and I wish I could just live there forever. I drank Butterbear and Pumpkin Juice, and people were looking at me in annoyance because I was that one person with the flash photography in the middle of the dim Hogwarts castle.

Just thought I would mention this in case any of you were having a bit trouble with Blaise's appearance, I have tried to base his appearance off of the actual Blaise Zabini in the movies.  
I've also added the minor character of Tracey Davis into the picture, just because I love writing for those type of characters(Stevie, Tracey, etc.)  
Hope you guys enjoyed a bit of Draco's POV.

I added in the bit about Phoebe, and Gale's letter, just to show Valica's connection to the Orphanage is still there, as well as her connection to her friends.  
I've got some special ideas planned for dear Gale, because I fell in love with his character, and have been planning out his character since before I even started on 'A Twist Called Valica Quem'.

Give me your thoughts on Tracey, Gale's letter, and EVERYTHING ELSE.

Next chapter will have a bit George, and we'll be seeing more of Draco, because I am missing my little ill-tempered Ferret.

**_Review_ Responses**  
**xXMizzAlecVolturiXx- You put the same thing each week, and I always look forward to seeing it.**

**HPfan101- I don't think you even realize how much your review made my day with your comment about, 'If you ever wrote a story that is not based off of a book, I would totally read it.'**  
**I hope you enjoyed Draco's POV on this one. I know it's not very insightful like Blaise's and Valica's are, but I think it's because I like that Draco has that outerlayer of being a jerk, because most of the time, that's all Valica sees. Every now and then she'll get a little glimpse of his deeper side, but it doesn't happen very much. I just don't want to make the story unrealistic, because at this moment in time, Valica is just an irritating Gryffindor to Draco, and Valica sees Draco as the stereotypical brat that is tearing Blaise away from her.**  
**Some events to come are going to bring them a bit closer, similar to the tutoring sessions last year, except a bit longer and insightful.**  
**I'm glad you're enjoying the story! I enjoy your reviews SOOOO much! Keep reviewing and giving your opinion. It helps me see my writing from a different point of view. I wasn't going to do a Draco POV until later chapters, but I put this one in just for you. Let me know what you think of it!. :)**

**Marie075- If there was an award I could reward to favorite review of the chapter, I would give it to you. Let's just pretend that there is! I saw your review on my phone and I was like 'I even have to scroll down to finish it! Holy cheese and crackers!' It was a very good time for me!**  
**I love the fact that I can actually carry out conversation with me reviewers, because in the end, you guys are what keeps me going on this story, no matter how long it takes me to put it up. ****I don't even think you can understand how deeply complimented I am that you even put me in the same paragraph as J.K. Rowling and Rick Riordan! I LOVE PERCY JACKSON! AND HEROES OF OLYMPUS! AND KANE CHRONICLES!**  
** George and Valica are a lot more about symbolism. George is a very innocent character to me, and I have so many characts that are scarred, that I like to have a character that gives me the chance just to laugh and have fun with. Also, I felt as if Valica needed someone that just sits there and listens, and makes her laugh. I had to give her a first boyfriend!**  
** And Valica's mother's murder is a SECRET! It is my baby! This is probably going to kill you, but her mother's murderer probably won't be revealed until the next book! Mwahahahahahahahaha!**  
** Looking forward to your next review!:)**

**Gotalife- I hope you enjoyed this chapter! There's plenty more Blaise/Draco/George drama coming up!**

**ChaserVine7928- Stay tuned for more Blaise, he's still got a few more roads he must travel by. xD**

**Chino- OH MY GOODNESS, YOU LIKE THE PACK STORY? :D I got quite a few reviews that people weren't really crazy about it being in the middle of the Valica story. So I'm going to make it a side story. I've been writing on it now, and then once I finish this Valica story, I'm going to post a whole different story about The Pack, and then see how people like it. If it gets generally positive reviews, I'll tie it in with the next Valica.**

**Myself- I love replying to reviews, almost as much as I love to receive them. I've went through the same thing when it came to have to write a 'short' story for school, and I ended up making it like five pages long. **  
** Description is actually where I would like to improve. Especially when it comes to scenery and describing people's appearance. I get a picture in my head, but I feel like I can never do it justice when I write it down.**  
** And Valica's anger is going to be coming out a lot more, which isn't good when it concerns her wand. xD**  
** Review again pleaseeee!**

** Abigleave- Haha, for every review you give me, the more my affections grows! So review, review, review, review! J**

** Midnight84118- Let me know what you think!**

**It doesn't matter- I know, please don't hate me. I hope you enjoyed this chapter! Review, it matters! ;D**

**~Nic**


	12. Do's and Don'ts

"I have three classes _a day_, for _five_ days _straight. _And you're complaining that you have four classes a _week_?" I asked George, my mouth wide open.

He chuckled, "One on Monday, two on Wednesday, and one on Friday." He couldn't help but gloat, of course.  
The two of us were sitting in the common room on a couch, with me sitting criss-cross on the couch, trying to compose a letter to Moony, and George sprawled out, exhausted from his morning of doing absolute nothing.  
The common room was a large round stone room with red tapestries hung around the entire room showing off famous House wizards, and the House emblem of a roaring lion. There were multiple red couches, golden armchairs, and plush seats that you could melt into.  
Hermione was in the library studying for House Elves' Rights. Ron and Harry were nearby playing a game of chess. Fred was sitting on the opposite couch talking to Angelina Johnson.  
I had made the mistake of asking where Lee and Alicia were, and received very dirty answers that I will never forget. Katie was in a Double Potions class, which, was probably hell for her, considering she was awful at it, and she had it with Slytherins.

"So you just get to choose what classes you want to do for your sixth year?" I asked him.

He nodded, "Pretty much. You get called to McGonagall's office in your fifth year, and she asks you what you're interested in doing once you get out of Hogwarts, and then she helps you choose what classes you should take."

"What if I don't know what I want I'm interested in?" I asked, getting slightly distracted from my letter.

"Then she discusses options with you." George answered. "She's pretty cool about it, surprisingly. She took Fred and I completely serious when we discussed opening the Joke Shop. She helped us pick out the right O.W.L.s that we should take, and even gave us a few management tips."

"That shouldn't shock you so much. I could see you guys opening a joke shop, with as much shenanigans as you guys pull." I said, smiling at him.

He stuck his tongue at me and I pretended that I was going to flick it, causing him to stick it back in his mouth pretty dang quick.

"Plus, McGonagall is pretty cool. Strict, yes, but she knows what she's doing." I assured him.

He shrugged, "It just seems kind of screwed up to me that she took us more seriously than our own mum does."

I patted his arm, "Your mum wants you and Fred to be successful, and that isn't such a bad thing."

"She wants Fred and I to be _Percy_." George said, scowling.

"Trust me, not even your mum wants another Percy, let alone two." I said, poking his arm.

He chuckled, before turning to me. "So you have no idea what you want to do outside of Hogwarts?"

"I didn't even know about the Wizarding World a year ago! I didn't even know what an auror was before yesterday! Of course I don't know."

"Well, what subjects do you like?" He asked, "Maybe I can steer you in the right direction."

I paused a moment, leaning my head back on the couch, "I like pretty much everything… except Charms." I shrugged, "If I had to pick favorites, it would probably be Defense Against the Dark Arts, Transfiguration, and Potions."

George took the moment to gag. "Potions? You _like_ Potions? Do you also like to gauge your eyes out with a fork?"

"Oh shut it. You _willingly_ took an O.W.L. in Charms, which is just as bad."

"It is nowhere near as bad as Potions!" He argued, laughing. "You're so _odd_."

"Says the ginger." I teased.  
He narrowed his eyes, and I knew I was in trouble. It took me about a moment to spring off the couch and bound towards the girl's dorm stairs where I would be safe, but a moment wasn't enough. I felt his arms encircle around my waist and pull me back before my feet could touch the stairs.

"What did you call me?" He asked me, picking me up off my feet and spinning me around.

I was laughing too hard to answer, and struggling to get out of his hold and get back on my feet.  
"George!" I exclaimed laughing, "Put me down."

"Not until you repeat what you said!" He challenged.

"I don't know what you're talking about!" I said stubbornly. Once again I was too aware of the fact that his mouth was right next to my ear, or the fact that his too-long red-hair was brushing my cheek. Now I was blushing and breathless, and everything was too weird, and too _close_… and not necessarily in a bad way.  
I really wasn't good at this girlfriend thing.

And then his hands found my ribs and George Weasley got the bright idea to see if me, Valica Phoenix Lupin, was ticklish.

The answer to that question… Yes… yes I am.

Somehow I found myself on the ground, with George tickling me viciously and thinking I was going to die.  
"I can't breathe." I somehow managed to choke out between laughter.  
"Is that a bad thing?" He asked me, grinning. He finally did stop tickling me, and instead pinned my arms down so I couldn't retaliate.  
"Well, it depends on how you define '_bad'_." I said, ceasing my struggle long enough to take in a few breathes. "If you consider me not being able to breathe and _dying_, bad, then _yes_, it's a _very_ bad thing."

He chuckled as I reattempted struggling and squirming in order to get him off of me, before finally rolling off.  
"You're blushing." He teased, grinning.

"Am not."I said, sticking my tongue out at him. "It's just hot in here, not to mention you just tried to _kill_ me."

He offered me his hand and I let him pull me back to my feet. "You poor thing." He said in a false sympathetic tone.

"Yes," I agreed, "I'm quite pitiful."

I made my way back to the couch, ignoring the grinning faces of Fred and Angelina, the cheeky smirk from Harry, and the gagging motion from Ron. There was hardly anyone else in the common room given the fact everyone else pretty much had a third class, and if they didn't, were taking the chance to be outside on their first day back.  
Settling back into the couch, George sat next to me, still smirking about the fact that I was blushing.

I focused back on my letter in attempt to cool my face off. I had mentioned the TriWizard Tournament that Hogwarts would be hosting, and my suspicions that it was asking for trouble. I had also mentioned the Blast-Ended Skrewts that I was sure would be a problem.  
Now I was debating mentioning Blaise to him.  
My dad was pretty good when it came to advice. I knew he would have something wise to say about this situation.  
Yet, here I was, unsure of whether to talk to him or not. Maybe it was the inner-Gale in me, who was telling me to keep it to myself. I wasn't used to having this type of problem, and I wasn't exactly sure if I wanted anyone else to know of it yet. I was too used to holding my secrets to myself and locking them inside myself or inside my Pandora's Box.  
So instead of writing it down, I finished the letter off with a simple,  
'I miss you. Write back soon. –Valica'

* * *

"Buddha," I sighed in exasperation to my Lesser Sooty Owl. "Of all the the birds in this entire tower, you choose to befriend Draco's."

Buddha just stared at me, obviously ignoring my words. My bird had serious attitude problems. I think she only put up with me for food. But at least she was pretty with her pure white face and, black and grey body markings.  
I reached in my pocket and pulled out one of the owl treats and fed it to her.

The bird next to her had yellow eyes as harsh and cold as his owner's. I pulled out the other treat and held it out for him. He stared a moment before snatching it out of my hand. "Jeez, dude."

I turned back to Buddha and crossed my arms. "Honestly, why can't you be friends with Hedwig or Pig. You know, Harry's and Ron's owls?" I should have known that she would go back to ignoring me though, now that I had no treat in my hand. Instead of listening to my weak lecture, she looked off over my head, not listening to a word I said.

"Maybe because she has better taste than her owner."

I almost groaned when I recognized the cold drawl of the snake himself.

I couldn't help but snarl, "Careful, Buddha... If you get to be good friends with Achilles and Draco doesn't approve, he'll take him away from you." The sentence stumbled out of my mouth before I could even think about it. I didn't mean to say it. The last thing I wanted was to let Draco Malfoy know that he had hurt me by taking away Blaise.

"Well at least I don't dismiss my friends as weak just because he wanted to go back to the people he was raised with."

I dismissed the small bit of guilt that twisted in my gut for just being hungry.

"No, you just completely shun them when they don't agree with your beliefs." I snapped, spinning around to face him. It took me completely off guard however when I realized that said snake was only about a foot away from me and I took an involuntary step backwards, but if he noticed he didn't show it. He just glared darkly at me, the usual scowl marring his pale face. "Blaise may have found someone to forgive and forget all the _hell_ that you put him through last year, but I haven't and I never will."

"This may surprise you, Quem, but I don't give a damn about what you think about me or my actions." He growled venomously, "Why should I? You're nothing but a _poor, filthy, annoying half-breed_ just like your father. And personally, I think you abandoning Blaise is the best thing that could happen to him."

My fist was balled up the moment he called my father a half-breed, it was reared back when he said that I had abandoned Blaise, and by the end of that sentence it was flying.  
But my punching must have been getting predictable to him, because he somehow managed to catch my wrist before I had a chance to connect my fist with his jaw. I yanked my hand out his grasp, and shoved him backwards, sending him reeling back a few feet, before falling on his butt.  
I reached in my robe pocket and pulled out my wand which I proceeded to stick in his face. I was seething too much to think of a witty come-back or even a decent threat. So we just stood there for a few moments, him on the ground amidst owl droppings and fallen feathers, and me standing above him with my wand pointing at his nose.

"It's about time you decided to use your wand instead of your fist." He muttered.

"Don't you _ever_ talk about my father that way," I said through my clenched teeth. I was so mad that my hands were shaking, and I couldn't even hold my wand still, not to mention that it was now burning and emitting sparks. "Say what you want about me, but don't you dare talk about my father like that or I swear I'll…"

"You'll what?" He hissed, "You can hardly perform a basic levitating charm. And you'll learn soon enough that your fists won't get you very far in a world with magic, wands, and people far more superior than you."  
As if proving his point, Draco pulled his wand out of his pocket, pointed it at me and said, '_Expelliarmus'. _

He pushed himself off the ground, though much to my pleasure, I noticed there were several feathers and bird dropping stuck to his cloak. The wand that had been yanked out of my hand by his stupid disarming charm, spun towards him and he grabbed out of the air, before yelping and dropping. "Ow, it's hot."

"I hope it scars." I muttered, and he focused his narrowed his eyes on me.

"_Locomotor Wibbly._" He said clearly, and before I could even move, my legs were suddenly shaking like someone had turned them to jello. I reached out to grab onto one of the nesting spots in the wall, but my legs refused to hold me any longer and I went toppling to the ground.

"What the hell, Malfoy?" I grunted, looking up at him to see myself in a similar position that he had been in about ten seconds ago—on the ground amidst feathers and poop, with his wand pointed at my face, though his wasn't sparking like crazy like mine had been.

And then a similar scene flashed into my head; the scene from a recurring nightmare in which occasionally my mum's murderer's pulled back the hood of his cloak to reveal the same pale face, pointed nose, slicked back blonde hair, and cold grey eyes, as the one who was pointing his wand at me just like he was doing now.  
Fear stuck in my throat, and I closed my eyes tightly, willing for my nightmare to just go away until tonight.

"What the hell, Quem?" He muttered, repeating my words from earlier. I peeked open my eyes to see him staring at me with a confused expression on his face.

"It's Lupin," I muttered, my cheeks reddening with embarrassment at the fact that I had just seemingly clenched my eyes in shut in apparent fear at Draco Malfoy holding his wand at me. And there was no way I could deny it, because I couldn't just blab to Draco Malfoy that I had just a vision of my dream in which he appears as my mum's murderer.

"Are you blushing?" He asked, his tone one of extreme shock, humor, and its usual condescending tone.

"Of course not." I snapped, "Now would you mind removing your curse off my legs so I can get to lunch?"

He snorted, "And why should I do that, _Quem_?" He took a step forward and so that he was right next to my useless legs and peered down at me. "Tell me, do I scare you?"

"Don't be an idiot," I snapped, "I could smash your face in if I wanted to."

"You don't want to?" He asked, quirking his eyebrows in the fashion that told me he totally didn't believe me.

"No, actually I don't receive joy from causing people pain… even an arse like you." I spat the last part. "Though right now… I might enjoy punching you in the face a few times and maybe kicking you in the-"

"_Expelliarmus_." A vaguely familiar voice called out, and Draco Malfoy's wand spun out of his hand and into the hand of Cedric Diggory.

_Yay Cedric! _I mentally cheered. _Now punch him in the face like a true knight in shining armor! _

Cedric Diggory unfortunately is too much of a gentleman for that. "Come on, Malfoy, picking on girls is low, even for you."

_Ouch. That stung my pride a bit. I mean I did give him a few punches in the face last year. I'm not a total defenseless __girl._

Draco snorted as if thinking what I was, before rolling his eyes, "A Hufflepuff to the rescue, how unpredictable." But Draco Malfoy wasn't a complete idiot, and even he knew that he obviously couldn't face off with Cedric Diggory. So he stepped up next to my head, tied his letter to Achilles' leg, and took his leave as his owl flew off, stopping long enough to snatch his wand from Cedric Diggory, and shoot me a death glare to which I responded with my trade-mark tongue-out expression though I was convinced it was colder than my playful stick-out-tongue expression.

Cedric watched him walk out, before turning and giving me that large beautiful grin that shown all almost all of his teeth. "You just attract trouble, don't you, Lupin?"

_He called me Lupin. I could swoon_.

He walked over and picked up my wand off the ground where Draco had dropped it earlier and handed it down to me, before extending a hand.

"Um…" I felt my cheeks redden slightly, "I kind of can't move my legs. Malfoy did some kind of curse… jelly-leg I think."

He chuckled, before taking out his wand, making some kind of weird motion, and pocketing his wand again. I was relieved to feel my legs return to normal and this time I accepted Cedric Diggory's hand and let him pull me to my feet.

"Nonverbal magic," I noted, "impressive."

His cheeks tinted red, and he grinned sheepishly, "I'm just really well acquainted with the Jelly-Leg counter curse. My friend Charlie uses it _a lot_."

"Well thank you again." I said, taking my letter out of my pocket and tying it to Buddha's leg. "You always seem to be in the right place at the right time."

"Yeah, just be thankful my mum goes insane if I don't send her a letter the first day of classes." He chuckled, looking at my owl. "Nice bird."

"There's nothing nice about her," I muttered, glaring at her for befriending Malfoy's owl, "Except her looks."

Cedric chuckled before scratching her head, to which Buddha made a pleased trilling sound. Cedric Diggory can even charm my evil bird… of _course he can_.

"That's ridiculous." I said, voicing my thoughts. He quirked his eyebrows at me in question, and I elaborated, "She's _evil_. She has attitude problems as bad as I do, if not worse. She normally causes me to bleed if I don't feed her something first. Yet, then you come over, with your dark and mysterious heroic self, and capture her heart." I snorted and rolled my eyes at her, "Typical female, you are." She glared at me and I could just picture her eating my nose right off my face.

He laughed, but his face turned a shade of red and I realized that not only was Cedric handsome, kind, and heroic, but he was also bashful.  
_Oh my goodness, dude. Did you just step out of a fairy-tale book? Were you conjured up from sugar, spice, and everything nice? _

I broke myself out of my inner gawking monologue and waited for Cedric to tie his letter to some Hogwarts' owl.

"So is your first day going well?" He asked me, as we exited the tower, and made our way back to the Great Hall. Or at least that where I guessed where he was going.

"So far I've managed to run late this morning, had to squeeze pus from bubotubers, poked a slimy looking lobster without a shell, _and_ got cursed by Malfoy… it's been a _great_ day!" I exclaimed, grinning hugely at him, causing him to laugh. "In all seriousness though, I'm just glad to be back."

"Yeah, it's going to be a great year!" He said optimistically. "I just have this feeling. It must be the TriWizard tournament."

"Oh, yeah." I nodded, "Are you going to enter?"

He nodded, "Of course! I'm sure you would too, if you were old enough, given all your Gryffindor bravery and stuff."

I snorted, "I highly doubt it. Believe it or not, I don't really like being caught up in trouble. I just want to have a semi-normal school year with my three best friends, and learn enough so that I won't almost charms and next time I can get my revenge against Malfoy by knocking him in the head so hard that he wakes up and thinks he married to the Giant Squid."

He chuckled, "And you call your poor bird evil."

I stuttered, "My _poor_ bird." I held up my hand and showed him a small scar on my pinky, "Do you see this? She did this to me for not giving her any of my bacon one morning."

He just shook his head, "Maybe she was starving and she _really_ wanted some bacon."

"Fine, side with the aviary creature then!" I snipped back, sniffling.

"Just because you use a fancier word doesn't mean I'm going to change my mind and side with you." He remarked grinning.

"Darn it." I muttered, shaking my head and snapping my fingers. "I was really counting on it too!"

He flashed me another large beautiful grin before stopping. "Well this is where we take separate paths, Miss. Lupin. My common room is this way." He said, gesturing to a hallway with a set of stairs leading downward. "  
"Your common room is _down stairs_? As in _under_ Hogwarts?" I asked.

He chuckled and nodded, "Yup… pretty close to the entrance to the kitchens."

"Where Fred and George nick the food for the occasional Gryffindor parties!" I exclaimed.

He chuckled, before pausing and looking down. His usual gigantic grin slowly faded into a bit of a sheepish smile and he peered down at me. "So I was wondering if maybe the next Hogsmeade weekend… if you weren't doing anything… maybe you would want to go with me?"

"I'm really flattered and everything, but I've kind of got a boyfriend." I said, my cheeks tinged with red, and my heart beating fast now with guilt.

"Oh," He said, but he didn't look upset or anything. Maybe a bit disappointed, but there wasn't any anger or anything in his eyes like I had expected. He gave me a grin. "That's alright."

"Sorry." I muttered.

"No really," He laughed, and all disappointment was now gone from his face. "It's all good."

"Yeah, well, thanks for rescuing me from Draco." I said, smiling.

"I wasn't saving you, silly. I was saving Draco. _You_ weren't the one walking around last year with a bruised jaw."

I chuckled and nodded, "That's fairly true." He went to leave and I stopped him.  
"Oh wait! Cedric!" I called.  
He turned and smiled, "Yeah?"  
"Can you do me a favor? It's kind of embarrassing, but I figured you're the least likely person to give me any crap about it."  
"Uh… sure." He said, quirking his eyebrows.  
"Can you see if I have any feathers or bird droppings on the back of my robe? If you remember correctly, I was laying on the floor in the owlery of all places."

He laughed and nodded, "Yeah, turn around."

So I did, and Cedric chuckled and wiped off my shoulders causing a few feathers to flutter to the ground. "You're good… no droppings. Just a regurgitated mouse skeleton."

I spun around and stuck my tongue out, causing him to laugh. He bid me another goodbye and took his leave down to the hall and staircase, leaving me there, amazed at how somehow could be so… _pure_. I shook my head and walked the rest of the way to Great Hall.  
Once I was in the entrance and the smell of sprouts, potatoes and roast drifted to me, it was all I could do not to wave my hands in the air, yell 'FOOD!' and run to the Gryffindor table like a complete loon.

So I settled with quickly walking to the table, scaring the mess out of Ron when I practically jumped into the seat next to him, and grabbing a fork with a look of murder in my eyes.  
I looked at Harry, who looking at me like I had sprouted purple hair or something… wait a second. That gave me an idea.

"Why does Malfoy have purple hair?" I exclaimed, pointing behind Harry to the Slytherin table. Harry turned around to see what I was talking about, and quicker than someone can say 'Loon', I snatched his plate, and dug into it.

"What are talking about?" Harry asked, after locating Malfoy with his eyes and noticed that he in fact, did _not_ have purple hair.  
He looked down at where his plate had been, looked at me, and back to the empty space of table that had once been occupied by his lunch. He closed his eyes tightly, before opening them again, as if maybe his plate would just magically appear.  
"Valica…" He whined. "That was _mine_."  
"Hush, Harry." I said semi-harshly, talking behind my hand so that he would have to see the five sprouts I had crammed into my mouth at once. I had better manners than Ron at least. "I have more serious things to worry about than your disappearing plate. Apparently, I'm seeing purple."

"No you aren't." He said stubbornly, frowning like a four year old. "You just said that so I would turn around and you could take my food."

"Why would I take your food when I can just make myself a plate?" I asked after swallowing, and taking a swig of pumpkin juice, relishing in the cinnamon flavor that was mixed into the drink.

"Because you're a brat." He said simply, before reaching forward to snag a forkful of potatoes off my plate, ignoring the fork I had raised in defense.

"I'm not a brat… I'm a child who just had a run-in with Malfoy, and was in need of food to replenish the strength I lost in the brutal face off we just had."

"When did you run in with Malfoy?" Harry asked.  
"Is he sporting a bruise on his face again?" Ron questioned giddily.

"In the owlery when I was sending Moony my letter." I said to Harry, before turning to Ron, "And no, unfortunately I didn't get a chance to punch him before he jelly-legged me." I frowned, glaring at the table in front of me, my face reddening in a mix of embarrassment and anger.

"And now you have to face two hours of extra Charms class with him and the rest of Slytherins." Ron so kindly pointed out. He swallowed audibly when I glared at him. "Sorry, Val."

I groaned before resuming piling roast and sprouts in my mouth like I hadn't eaten in a lifetime.

Eventually the clock struck one o'clock and I knew that I should start heading to Fitwicks' class and the boys had to go to the Divination tower.

I drug my feet dramatically and Harry looked at me sympathetically and held out his arm for me. I gave him a small smile and linked my arm with his, before linking my other arm with Ron's. "I might need you guys to drag me to the Charms classroom."  
"I might need you to drag me to Divination." Harry muttered, frowning at the thought of Trelawney, because let's face it… that lady was a few fries short of a Happy Meal, and she obviously found the thought of Harry dying entertaining enough to falsely predict it _every_ day.

"At least you can make up the work and get through the class… I however will make a fool of myself, over and over…"

"And over…" Ron repeated.  
"And over…" Harry said with a smile.

They tightened their arms around mine so that I couldn't smack them both, and I felt like I had stuck my tongue out enough for one day, so I settled with huffing and sticking my lip out in a pout. They succeeded in putting me in a bit of a better mood, by continuously muttering 'And over' and poking me.

"Remind me to thank George for revealing that Valica Lupin is ticklish." Harry said, smirking.  
Ron laughed in a somewhat maniac way.

I gave them both odd looks and frowned, "You tickle me, and you'll find yourself in the hospital wing."

They didn't take me very seriously of course, which would have been a mistake for anyone else other than them.

Too soon came the fork in the hallways where I had to turn right to go to Charms, and the twins had to go left to go to the Divination tower. "Good luck." I murmured dejectedly.

"You too." Ron said, patting my head in sympathy.  
"Don't let the snakes get you down." Harry said, smiling.  
"And just punch them if they do." Ron grinned.

My good mood began to wane away, and I drug my feet to Charms.

Suddenly something hit me from my left sending me stumbling off to the side. I caught my balance last minute, which was a first.

"Oh, sorry." A low sullen voice muttered. I turned to see the tall weedy figure of Theodore Nott—one of Blaise's Slytherin buddies.  
He was almost a whole head taller than me, with mussed up dirty blonde hair, and a pointy nose. His facial expression was always one of confusion and boredom which may give you the impression the boy wasn't very smart, but I knew better. Hermione and I's potion grades were only rivaled by his, and not just because he had Snape's favoritism on his side.  
I had only talked to him on one occasion, and that was the end of term last year, when I met him with Zabini. Although it wasn't much of a conversation… I believe I said 'hi' and he nodded back.

"Are you alright?" He asked. His tone wasn't one of concern, but at least he had asked… which was more than almost any Slytherin(other than Zabini at one point) would do.

"Uh… yeah. Thanks for asking."

He just shrugged and walked on before stopping. "You're Valica, right? Blaise's ex-friend?"

I copied his shrug, "Yeah. What about it?"

He just shrugged again, and I thought I saw a twitch of a smile touch the corner of his mouth. "Just wondering if he had gotten on his knees and groveled for your forgiveness, but from that facial expression, I'm going to guess it's a _no._"

I opened my mouth to respond, but he turned and walked away without giving me a chance too. I watched his back for a moment, before following him to the Charms' classroom.

I paused outside of the classroom and debated punching the wall. If I broke my hand, I would have to go to the Hospital Wing, and I would get to miss class.  
As if reading my mind, Flitwick appeared outside the classroom before I could make up my decision.  
I sighed and walked past him and into the classroom. I was sad to see that some of my least favorite people were already here—Pansy Parkinson, Gregory Goyle, and Vincent Crabbe. The girl that I spotted hanging off of Blaise's arm and twirling her hair around her finger, Tracey David or something, was there also.

Pansy Parkinson was sitting on a desk, and I took a moment to glower. She had cut her hair so that it was to her chin and framed her ugly face. She had sharp malicious brown eyes, a smashed looking nose, and large pale lips. She wasn't as ugly as I probably thought, but I couldn't look at her without seeing her ugly personality showing on her face. She wasn't as pretty as she acted like she was either.

She hadn't noticed me and was talking about some kind of new style of dresses to a Slytherin girl with large round glasses, with black hair cut in a similar fashion, and a small mouth. Daphne Greengrass, who looked very similar to her sister, other than the fact that she had board straight blonde hair where her sister had wavy dark brown, was also listening in and giggling every now and then.

I was able to walk past them without them catching sight of me and I made my way to the farthest seat in the back right corner. Tracey David stood up from where she was sitting in the front and made her way to the back. Much to my chagrin, she took the seat in front of the desk next to me.  
She gave me an amused smirk and looked back down at the notes she was copying off of the board.

I fought the urge to stick my tongue out at the back of her head, and sighed before pulling out my Charms textbook, a piece of parchment, and my quill and ink so I could begin copying notes on the summoning charm.

In a few minutes, any remaining Slytherins had slipped into the classroom, the last two being the ones that I least wanted to see. I refused to hide behind my textbook like a ninny, and forced myself to sit up straight and proud, ignoring the fact that I couldn't reach and place my feet flat on the floor.

Somehow, Blaise didn't spot me at first. Draco took a seat in the front of the class next to his two personal goonies, though not before laughing at something Blaise had said. I glared daggers at the back of his head. Blaise spotted Tracey who beckoned him over, while smirking flirtatiously. Placing my head in my hands, I sighed to myself, knowing the only seat left over here was the one next to me.  
_Don't let him notice me. Let me just disappear. Don't let us have an awkward confrontation. Please, please, please. No. No. No._

And for a moment I thought my prayers were heard. He managed to walk all the way down the rows between our desks, greet Tracey, and sit down in the seat next to me without as much of a glance my way. And then he turned to see who was sitting on his left side…  
His eyes widened dramatically, and his mouth fell open. I heard Tracey snicker, but Blaise just stared at me. I tried to look away quickly, and not meet eyes with him. Instead I focused on our short professor who wobbled into the room and began calling for attention.  
"Alright then everyone," Professor Flitwick said as he climbed on top of his desk so that he could face the whole class. "Welcome back to Charms class. I have to make sure everyone is here and none of you are out snogging in the hallways."

"Millicent Bulstrode" As Flitwick started his roll call, a small sheet of folded parchment landed on my desk. I eyed Blaise, who I knew it had come from, but he was focused on Flitwick.

I rolled my eyes, unfolded the parchment and read the neat large letters that I recognized from the letter I had received at the Weasley's home a few weeks ago.

'_You may not have noticed Gryffindork, but this is a SLYTHERIN classroom.'_

"Tracey Davis" Flitwick called next, while I frowned.

'_Don't call me Gryffindork.' _Instead of neatly folding the note, I crumpled it, made sure Flitwick wasn't paying attention and threw it Blaise. My lip twitched as I saw that it hit him in the side of the head.

"Daphne Greengrass"

'_I always call you Gryffindork. Are you still pissed about the carriage ride? Stop being mad at me, you never let me finish. I HAVEN'T DONE ANYTHING WRONG! You would know that if you would just talk to me. What are you doing in my classroom?'_

'_I don't want to talk to you. You already made it clear that your loyalties lie with Draco Malfoy."_

'_It's not that simple. I would always choose you over Draco Malfoy. I'm friends with him for reputation only. WHY ARE YOU IN A SLYTHERIN CLASSROOM?'_

'_The Blaise I was friends with didn't care about his reputation.' I scribbled, 'Just leave me alone, Zabini.' _I threw it back at him. I didn't see his reaction to the note, but he never wrote me back so I knew that I had hurt his feelings.

"Valica… Lupin?" He said, looking up in mild confusion.

"Here" I said, lifting my hand hesitantly in the air. I sat up a bit straighter, and lifted my chin slightly, trying to channel into my inner Gryffindor bravery. Every single pair of eyes spun around to face the back right corner where I sat.  
"Get a name change, Miss… Lupin?" He asked, confusion evident on his face. I wanted to roll my eyes. It reminded me _way_ to much of last year when everyone stumbled over the name _Quem_.  
"Yes sir." I answered, somewhat proudly and somewhat annoyed.

When he saw that I wasn't going to elaborate, he shook his head slightly and called out the next name, "Draco Malfoy"

Draco was still looking at me but he muttered, "Present."

While Flitwick called out the last three names, I could quick up the quiet mutters of, "What the hell is she doing in here", and "Oh goody, a lion in the snake's pit".

I just stared at the sheet of parchment I had taken my notes on and doodled mindlessly with my quill.

"Okay, who can tell me what the Summoning Charm does?" Flitwick asked, looking around for hands, although no one raised their hand. "Mr. Goyle?"

"Uh…" Gregory Goyle mumbled, "Summons… stuff."

If I would have gave that answer I would have gotten detention.  
"Very good, Mr. Goyle, would anyone care to elaborate?"

My mouth fell open in shock.  
_OHHHHHHHHHHHHHH! _I mentally screamed, _Flitwick put me in this class because this is the stupid class. That short cheeky little… _

I thought I heard a low chuckle from Blaise, and I turned to see him giving me an amused smirk. "That's more than he usually says." He whispered quietly to me, as if explaining my Flitwick responded so positively.

"Mr. Zabini, why don't you give it a shot?" Flitwick called to the back of the class.

Blaise was slouched in his seat, his head rested back against the wall, looking like one of those 'I couldn't care less' kids that _every_ class has. "As Mr. Goyle so elegantly put it, it summons objects from any distance to fly to the caster's arms or hand."

"So distance doesn't matter?" Professor Flitwick, quirking his eyebrows in the way that made you doubt your answer.

"As long as the caster has the object clearly in mind, the distance doesn't matter. Although, the caster should take in consideration the distance the object has to travel, because that would contribute to the length of time it would take for the object to get there."

Flitwick's eyes twinkled merrily, "And you keep saying objects? What kind of objects?"

Blaise shrugged, "Any non-living object except for buildings or objects that have been enchanted to not be summoned."

"Very good!" Flitwick praised, "Take ten points for Slytherin."

_Prat. _I didn't know if I was talking about Flitwick or Blaise, or both, but the name seemed to fit in this situation.

"It's nice to see that you've come out of your stump from last year, Mr. Zabini. Keep up the good work!" Flitwick said, before turning to write what Blaise had said on the board. "Copy these down please."

"Yeah, Blaise." Pansy whispered, and Blaise turned his head to show his he was listening, "Nice to see you've come out of your stump."

He rolled his eyes and went back to copying notes. I felt a tugging at my heart string and frowned at the parchment.  
"Val," He whispered slightly. "Gryffindork?"

I clenched my hand tightly around my quill and turned to look at him. "Don't call me that." I repeated quietly, looking up to see Flitwick stacking books for him to stand on. Blaise had sat up and leaned towards me.

"I've always called you that." He reminded me.

I just shook my head and looked down at my parchment to doodle nonsense swirls.

He sighed, and leaned back again, his head resting on the wall.

"Okay, who can tell me the incantation for the spell? Those who did your summer work should know this. Mr. Malfoy?"

Draco was sitting up in his seat with his usual good posture, looking like the usual good Charms student. "It's Accio, followed by the object's name or at least a vague description."

"Yes, that's right." Flitwick nodded, writing _Accio_, waving his wand and causing the eraser to write **Accio** in bold letters above the words 'Summoning Charm'.

We spent the next half hour going over the pronunciation, the wand movement, and the notable uses of the Charm.

"One of the most famous uses of the spell was by Gideon Flatworthy who summoned goblin-made artifacts for money, and later summoned cattle to him for food. However he didn't take into consideration the weight of the cows, and when they flew into his arms, the squished and killed him."

I chuckled at the casual way he threw that last fact out there. He seemed to notice and I thought I saw him shoot me a small smile, and that made it easier to ignore the dirty looks I was getting from the Slytherins.

"Gideon Flatworthy?" Tracey Davis asked, "He was the leader of the accionites, right?"

Flitwick hesitated, a small frown creasing his face.

"What are the accionites?" Daphne Greengrass asked.

Pansy Parkinson answered instead of Tracey, "They were a group of anti-Muggle extremists. My ancestors were a part of them."

"Well their leader got squished by a cow… so I doubt they were the brightest bunch of people." I pointed out and she twisted her head around to glare at me.

"At least their head was in the right place." She snapped.

"Under a cow?" I asked innocently.

Flitwick whistled loudly, call us all back to attention. "Enough you two. The point of this little history lesson is to make you wary of the consequences of certain objects you may summon. With the summoning charm you have to take account for the weight of the object and the speed of which the object will be traveling. Like most charms, you can learn to control certain factors such as this, with how much power and energy you put into the charm. That is to say you wouldn't need to put as much force in summoning a book as you would something larger."

"Like a cow?" Tracey questioned loudly.

Flitwick smiled, "Yes, Miss. Davis. Like a cow."

Tracey nodded, "Nice to know."

Flitwick spent a few more moments discussing the do's and do not's of the summoning charm before he dropped the real bomb.  
"Now as you know, each year you are to choose a partner that you will remain with for the rest of the school year."

My stomach dropped as the words came out of his mouth. I was no stranger to bad partners. I had once been partners with Neville Longbottom in Potions… I shouldn't have to further elaborate. And another time I had to team up with Seamus Finnigan in transfiguration. We were supposed to turn a hedgehog into a pincushion, but Seamus accidently caught it on fire… Poor hedgehog.

But I would have taken either one of them over anyone in this class.

"I call Blaise!" Daphne called out.  
Blaise looked up and around in confusion, before frowning in annoyance. "No, you don't. She doesn't call me, Professor."

"You know you want to be partners with her." Tracey muttered loud enough for me to hear her.

"Maybe in her dreams." He responded, rolling his eyes.

"Like _you_ would be in any girl's dreams." She snorted.

"I bet I'm in yours."

"You're not."

"You're just in denial."

"You're just delusional."

"Only for you."

She laughed, "So I'm in _your_ dreams?"

"No, but you are in my nightmares."

She turned around and glared at him with a smirk on her face, to which he responded with a wink.  
"Arse." She muttered, turning back to face the front and crossing her arms.  
"Love you too, Tracey." He said, reaching forward and tugging her hair.

"Pansy, be my partner?" Daphne asked the brunette in front of her.

Pansy turned around and smiled, "I would, but I'm partners with Draco."

"No you're not, Pansy." Draco drawled from the front of the class without even turning around.

"Oh come on, Drakey.." Pansy whined, rolling her eyes.

"She's _all_ yours, Daphne." Draco called back.

Daphne grinned, and Pansy looked slightly hurt, but didn't say anything else.

"Don't worry Pansy." Blaise called out, making Pansy turn around to see him. "Drakey's head over heels for you, he's just playing hard to get."  
Blaise had to duck as Draco turned around and threw his textbook at him. Blaise caught it like a boss though, and winked cheekily at Draco, who shooting him daggers.

Another shrill whistle calmed the class down, bringing all attention back to Flitwick who waving his hands in the air. "Enough, enough, enough! I've had you all long enough to know that I can't trust you all to choose your own partners… especially after last year's incidents." I didn't know what incidents he was talking about, but I noticed that a few eyes seemed to look at Blaise, and a few turned to Tracey who waved politely.  
"_So_ I've organized you into groups according to alphabetical order."

He picked up a sheet of paper, and read off the names.

"Millicent Bulstrode and Vincent Crabbe"  
The scariest girl I had ever saw who sat in the front on Draco's left, turned to leer at Vincent Crabbe, who I felt the tiniest bit of pity for.

"Tracey Davis and Samara Darcy"  
The girl with glasses that sat next to Pansy, and had been talking with her and Daphne before class turned around to smile at Tracey, who smirked.  
"Lucky…" Blaise muttered quietly. "You get the only normal girl in the class."  
Tracey grinned, "You know who comes before Zabini? _Parkinson._  
Blaise shivered and frowned in disgust. "It's better than Greengrass, at least."

"Daphne Greengrass and Gregory Goyle"  
Daphne made a choking noise. Goyle just stared dumbly off into the distance.

There were only about three seconds between each pair of names Flitwick called, but that was all it took.  
One second for the alphabet to zoom through my mind.  
One second for me to notice that the letter after **L** was **M**.  
One second for me to realize there was only one prat with a last name starting with an M in this class… and he was the biggest prat of them all.

"Valica Lupin and Draco Malfoy."  
"WHAT!"  
"NO!"

Flitwick looked up, his eyes travelling between the two of us back and forth a few times.  
"Is there a problem?"

"YES" We both yelled at the same time, Draco swiveling around in his seat to glare at me.

Flitwick rolled his eyes, "I'll see you two in a second. For now, let me get through the rest of the list.

"Theodore Nott, Pansy Parkinson, and Blaise Zabini"

"Why are we in the group only group of three?" Pansy asked, crossing her arms.

"Because the class has an odd amount of people," Flitwick answered, "There had to be one group of three."

"Well does my group really count as two?" Daphne asked, looking at Goyle who either didn't care that Daphne was inferring he was stupid, or too dumb to realize.

Flitwick frowned a moment, before sighing, "Mr. Zabini, join Miss. Greengrass and Mr. Goyle's group."

Tracey burst out laughing, and Blaise's mouth dropped open. "Seriously, Professor, I thought we were friends."

"That's enough." Flitwick frowned, "Now Mr. Malfoy, Miss. Qu-Lupin, come see me at my desk. The rest of you, please take out the assignment you were supposed to do over the summer and get ready to turn it in."

I groaned quietly and made my front of the room, jumping over Crabbe's foot which he had stuck out to trip me. I turned around and kicked it, making him yelp and stick it back under his desk.

Flitwick narrowed his eyes, but didn't say anything about it. Once Malfoy and I were both assembled in front of his desk(which he was standing on), he crossed his arms. "Now what is all the fuss about?"

"I can't be partners with _her_." Draco hissed, pointing at me.

"I'm sure you can, Mr. Malfoy. You two managed to get through a tutoring session in one piece."

"If you care to recall, Professor, it ended with me punching him in the face." I pointed out.

"That was _not_ at a tutoring session." He reminded me, "That was a whole separate incident which hopefully has been resolved."

"It hasn't been resolved, I still hate him." I muttered.  
Draco narrowed his eyes at me, "The feeling's mutual."

Flitwick stomped his foot which made us both turn to look at him. "This is not up for a discussion. You two have been assigned as partners and that is final. I don't expect for you two to be thrilled about it, but I expect you both to make the most out of the situation. Now you can either accept each other as your partner or you both can receive a failing grade for any project assigned that require a partner." He sighed, "Now, Mr. Malfoy please go and get your summer work out. Miss. Lupin, stay for a moment."

Draco frowned and walked back to his seat muttering something.

"Miss. Lupin, do you know why I asked Dumbledore to assign you an extra Charms class for this period?" He asked me in his squeaky voice. Even standing on the desk, he was only eye level to me, which taking in account for how short I am… isn't impressive.

"I don't know, Professor. I'm torn between either, a) You love me more than any other student, or, b) You want me to kill myself."  
I bit my tongue as soon as I said it. I wasn't really one to mouth off to teachers, because no matter how much they (Binns, Snape, Flitwick, ect.) annoy me, they've always treated me better than any other teacher I had at the orphanage.  
I waited for Flitwick to assign me a detention, or you know… yell at me, but it never came.  
Instead he chuckled.

"That was an answer that would have made your mother proud." He said, smiling.

My eyes widened slightly at that unexpected turn of conversation.  
"I'm going to tell you something that I've never said to any student." He started, but his eyes were slowly out of focus, like he was in a different time, maybe one where my mum was the girl standing in front of him and not me, "Your mum was my favorite student. She was an amazing young girl, and with a natural knack for charms. She never struggled once." He laughed slightly, "And she absolutely _loved_ showing off her talents. She used to charm flowers to sing and give them to her teachers. Or once I came in and she had used a color changing charm on the entire classroom so that the walls flashed different colors. And she wouldn't hesitate to charm anyone she got angry at… she once charmed her friend James so that it snowed on him 24/7." He chuckled again, "She may have been a trouble maker, but she was so talented. And she was always nicer to me than she was to the other teachers. She never gave me too much trouble… or at least not as much trouble as she gave Slughorn."  
He shook his head as if coming out of the reverie and my throat started closing up as I realized he had tears in his eyes. I sniffed slightly and blinked rapidly, just in case there were any tears… there weren't, of course.

"But I knew from the moment she walked into my class for the first time that she was special." He said, causing me to look up from where I was staring at the floor. "It's a bit of sixth sense that a teacher develops after doing this job for so long. Sometimes a student walks in, and you just know from that very moment that that student is something special. It hasn't happened very often with me… only a handful of times… but I've never been wrong. I wasn't wrong when Lily Evans walked into my class. I wasn't wrong about Nymphadora Tonks. I wasn't wrong about your mother. And I'm willing to bet I will not be wrong about you either."

I blinked a few times and as if he couldn't surprise me anymore, Flitwick then placed his hand on my shoulder and continued with words that I never thought would come out of his mouth, "You have so much potential, Valica. And I have complete faith in the fact that you are going to be a great witch. And now that I see who your father is, I'm convinced that you may even be a greater witch than your mother."

"Thank you very much, Professor. I'm really honored." I said, still kind of confused, "But that doesn't explain why you gave me an extra Charms class, Professor."

He cleared his throat, "Your mother may have had several friends in Gryffindor… but she had some in Slytherin too. And it was those friends who pushed your mum to her full potential… I'm hoping that some of yours will do the same."

I opened my mouth to confess that as of yesterday night, I had no more friends in Slytherin but he waved me off. "Now go on and get your summer work out… I have a class to teach, Miss. Lupin."

"Yes sir." I choked out, swallowing the emotion in my throat, before going back to my desk at the back of the classroom. I sat there feeling kind of numb, while pulling the Charms worksheets I had been assigned over summer.

"Are you okay, Gryffindork?"

"Don't call me that." I whispered. I jumped as his hand touched my cheek. Finally I spun around to face him and met his eyes for the first time this class period. "Don't pretend nothing happened. Don't pretend that you haven't changed this summer, because you _have_. Don't pretend that your not friends with the prejudice git that is Malfoy. Don't pretend that you haven't been flirting with some girl that is in the same group of people that you used to make fun of with me. Don't pretend that you miss me. And don't pretend that our friendship meant anything to you, because as soon as they'll take you back, you go running back to them, despite everything they put you through. Now for the love, Zabini, just _leave_ me alone."

"I just wanted to know if you were okay."

"I'm fine." I responded.

"Okay." He whispered.

I felt like I might actually be able to cry, but I wasn't going to try in a classroom full of Slytherins.

I made it through the rest of the class without any other incident. Flitwick went over the homework, assigned an essay on the pros and cons of the summoning charm. Blaise didn't say anything else to me, and though Tracey tried flirting with him a few times, he would just give her a short answer and go back to sitting quietly. I spared him a glance once and was surprised to see that he didn't look mad or sad… just thoughtful.

Finally the bell rang and I made to get out of my seat when someone grabbed my arm. I turned to see Blaise, looking odd with his short hair and cold eyes staring down at me. He lowered his head so that he was only a few inches away from me. "I'm friends with Malfoy because he's been my best friend since I can remember. I flirt with Tracey because let's face it… I'm a dude, and she's fit and fun and playful and yeah, I like the fact that I've finally met a girl in my house that I don't absolutely want to shove into a wall. And yes, I've changed this summer. I've heard things that scare the crap out of me. And I don't care about reputation, but everyone else that I have to be around every day of my life, they care a lot. And my mum's all I've got left to protect me, so I have to make her happy." Everything came out in such a jumbled rush that I couldn't process it all, but I caught the next words clear enough, "I can't control who my mum is, or what my best friends thinks about me. I can't control the fact that my newest stepfather may or may not be a death eater. And you are _so _wrong about _so_ much, and your stupid Gryffindor pride is keeping you from listening to me, and part of me hates you for not listening and judging me." He took a deep breathe, "But a larger part of me that loves you because of your Gryffindor pride is what's going to make it so that I will _never _leave you alone, so stop asking that of me. And stop telling me not to call you Gryffindork, because that's what you've been to me since the very first day I bumped into you before the Quidditch match and that's what I'm always going to think of you as."

We sat there in silence for a few moments before he straightened up. "And don't call me Zabini." He slammed a small piece of parchment on my desk before walking to where I noticed Malfoy was waiting for him, glaring at me. I looked at the sheet of parchment he had put on my desk and read the four words that were written in his large neat scrawl.

_I miss you, Gryffindork._

* * *

I spent the rest of my first day with Ron and Harry, since the twins had Defense Against the Dark Arts, and Hermione was in the library. We hung around and I worked on my Charms essay, while they put together a completely fake and made up Divination chart. We then switched back in forth playing wizarding chess, which I was absolute rubbish at, and Exploding Snap in which Ron got his eyebrows singed. So by the time we were on the way to dinner, which Hermione even came out of the library for, I was in a surprisingly good mood, despite the eventful day I had underwent. Ron had just explained how his eyebrow got singed causing Hermione to laugh.  
Our joking mood quickly dissolved however when a voice that I had heard _way_ too much of in the past twenty four hours called out, "Hey Weasley!"

We all turned to see Draco Malfoy grinning with malicious humor, which is the only way I've ever saw him grin.

I spotted Goyle behind him, and a few steps away from him was Blaise, with his hands in his robe pockets and an expression that seemed to say 'I have way better things to do'. I stared at him for a few moments, but he almost seemed to be avoiding my gaze, his eyes flickering between Malfoy and Ron.

"Did you see your father in the newspaper?" Draco leered to Ron, causing me to switch my attention over to him, though I did so rather reluctantly.  
I felt my anger rise as Draco Malfoy read out the article published by Rita Skeeter which basically made an idiot out of Mr. Weasley. I may have only met the man about four times(the nights in which Lupin and I went to dinner over at the Weasley's in the two weeks after the World Cup) but I had already grown fond of him and his jolly humorous ways. A crowd of students had slowly gathered of course, and Malfoy was egging all he could of the situation.  
"And look _Weasley_, there's even a picture of your parents in front of… do you call that a house?"

It was probably a good thing I had linked arms with Ron, because it gave me something to grip him by to keep him from charging Malfoy. Harry helped by dropping my arm and grabbing Ron's robes.

"So Malfoy, this habit of teasing other people's fathers… does that come from your personal daddy issues or are you just a complete arse?" I asked.

"Speaking of daddy issues, how is it having a monster for a father?" He asked, turning and glowering at me.

I laughed dryly, "You would know, given that fact that your father is just an older version of you."

"At least he's not a…" Draco started but I cut him off harshly,  
"If you call him a half-breed, Malfoy, I swear you'll need one of your little cronies to drag you to the hospital wing."

"What are you going to do? You've already saw how you punching me worked out?"

"How about castrating you?" I spat out venomously. Ron made a choking-coughing-laughing noise.

Harry laid a hand on my shoulder, "Just leave it alone, Valica. Professor Lupin wouldn't be very happy if he heard that you've gotten detention on the first day of term because of him."

I sighed and took a deep breathe, while Harry glared at Malfoy, "Just shove off, Malfoy."  
How he stayed semi-calm in these situations, I would never understand.

"You've seen Weasley's mum, Potter, tell me is she really that fat or is it just the camera?"

Harry had to grab both Ron and my robes this time. Draco had lost his ever loving mind if he thought he was going to insult Mrs. Weasley, who had taken such good care of me the past few times I had been at The Burrow.  
Someone else grabbed my robes, giving Harry a chance to rein in Ron, who now struggling more than I was. I turned to see Hermione frowning and shaking her head at me. "Calm down."

"Yeah, I've seen your mum too, Draco. Tell me, does she always look like she smells something bad or was it just because she was standing next to you."

I snickered appreciatively. I hadn't remembered seeing Mrs. Malfoy at the World Cup but I imagined I had been too distracted with George, Malfoy, and the older version of the latter.

Draco Malfoy now looked absolutely livid, and he yanked out his wand and opened his mouth but was interrupted when Blaise stepped forward and yanked out his wand causing me to freeze. He pointed it at Harry and said quietly, "Don't make fun of Narcissa, Potter."

Narcissa… that name sounded vaguely familiar but I didn't pay much attention. I pulled out my wand and after a moment of hesitation, I pointed it at Blaise who looked at me in shock. "Don't point your wand at him, Blaise."

"Then tell your friend to shut his mouth." Harry said coldly, before practically dragging Ron back. I gave Blaise one more look before turning to follow my three friends.  
That was my mistake—turning my back on Draco. You don't ever turn your back on your enemy. You think I would know that by now.

I heard Draco yell a spell and I ducked and pushed Harry down next to me, since he was the closest one. I watched as the spell soared where his head had been, but it harmlessly hit a wall.

"OH NO YOU DON'T, LADDY!" I heard a voice yell. Ron had grabbed my arm and hauled me off the ground, while Harry pushed himself up off his bum.  
"Thanks, Val." He said, giving me a quick smile. Before I could say anything however, there was a loud BANG, causing me to jump, and both of us to spin around.

I had to blink a few times to a hold on the situation.  
When Malfoy had been standing a moment ago, a white ferret stood shaking. The newspaper Malfoy had been holding was now lying like on the floor.

"Did he get you?" Moody asked Harry.  
"Erm, no…" Harry muttered, looking at the white ferret.

"Dude, what the hell?" A familiar voice yelled out. I looked over Moody's shoulder to see Blaise, fury evident on his face, looking at his best friend with his mouth open. "You can't use transfiguration on students!"

"Want to be turned into a dung beetle, boy?" Moody growled, though he hadn't turned around. I noticed that his blue glass eye was turned around and it dawned on me that this guy could literally see out of the back of his head.

"Nope." Blaise gulped, shrugging. "I'm good." And with that he spun around pushed past a few of the students that were snickering at him, though not before shoving of them on their bottoms, and disappeared down the ground.

Moody's black beady eye focused on me, "Nice reflexes, pushing you and Potter down like that."

I shrugged, "Uh… thanks? Malfoy's a ferret!"

"LEAVE IT!" Moody shouted.

"Okay, jeez. I was just stating a fact." I muttered.

"Not you." He growled, "Him!" He pointed his thumb back behind him to see that Crabbe was about to pick Malfoy up. He gulped and backed up.

Moody spun around so that he wasn't facing us anymore, and turned to glare a Malfoy-the-ferret, who was shaking, either as after effect of the spell, or out of fear.  
Ron was snickering now, and Harry was smiling. Hermione was just standing there, looking a bit dazed.  
And I should have been with Ron on this one—snickering and reveling in the fact that Malfoy had finally gotten what he deserved.  
But I didn't. I felt no smugness, or happiness, or enjoyment.  
Okay, maybe a _bit_ of smugness.  
But mostly I was repulsed and… worried? About Malfoy? I sure hope not.

As Moody started limping towards Malfoy, the ferret let a terrible squeak and took down off the hallway that led towards the dungeons.  
"I don't think so." Moody yelled, raising his wand and causing Malfoy to fly several feet in the air before falling with a smack to the floor, before bouncing once more.  
"I don't like people who attack when their opponent's back's turned," Moody explained gruffly to the ferret that was bouncing higher and higher. "It's a stinking, cowardly thing to do…"

Moody took a break in his rant, and for a moment, the ferret remained suspended in the air, its legs and tail flailing helplessly, squeaking in fear.  
But it wasn't a ferret that I saw suspended helplessly in the air. It was the little boy from the Quidditch World Cup that I saw—when the death eaters were suspending him in the air, spinning him around, while he flailed helplessly, unable to fight the magic at all.  
I remembered having to stand by and watch, because I was too helpless to put a stop to it.  
I wasn't as helpless this time.

"Don't-You-Ever-Do-That-Again." Moody growled, Malfoy hitting the floor on every word.

"ENOUGH!" I screamed, stepping out past Harry and Ron. My distraction had the desired effect. Moody turned to look at me, my outburst catching him off guard, and breaking his concentration of the spell. Malfoy-the-Ferret fell on the newspaper which he had been teasing Ron about.  
And then, out of pure instinct, I yanked my wand out, which was hot from the rage pulsing through me, but this time, the heat didn't burn my hand, and no sparks were coming from the end. Instead, the wand seemed to hum contentedly, as if happy that I was finally using it for magic. I pointed it at the ferret, who was shivering in fear, and said the first thing that came to my mind, "Accio newspaper". For once, my charm had the desired effect, and the newspaper came rocketing towards, thankfully bringing the ferret with it. It would have been ironic if Malfoy would have fell off the newspaper, and I would have just been standing, mad and holding a newspaper.

I grabbed Malfoy off the newspaper and held him to me with one hand, my other hand still gripping my wand.

Moody just stared at me with both eyes, his mouth gaped open in shock. There were many similar looks coming from others in the crowd, and I cleared my throat, and rubbed the back of my neck with the hand holding my wand.  
"Att-tt-tacking a h-helpless opponent," I had a bad habit of stuttering when I got nervous. Sirius once mentioned I got it from my dad. "is just as bad as attacking someone when their back is t-turned. You're a grown ex-auror, who just attacked a f-fourteen year old ferret." And with flashbacks of the orphanage running through my mind, my nervousness slowly ebbed away, and I spoke with a bit more confidence. "And you're a professor. And as a professor or teacher, you're not supposed to hurt your students."

Silence filled over the whole hall, before a shrill, strict voice that belonged to the scariest woman I knew, filled the hall, "Professor Moody!"

Moody turned his blue eye around to face McGonagall who was standing, her hands on her hips, and looking horrified. I spotted Blaise behind her, his arms cross and a smug look on his face. "Hello, Professor McGonagall."

McGonagall's eyes took in the whole situation, starting at Moody, then going to me, and to the ferret I was holding in an almost protective way.  
I then remembered it was Malfoy I was holding to me. I pocketed my hand and grabbed him by the scruff of his neck and lifted him that he was level to my face. I eyed him closely, "You know… you're _much_ cuter as a rat. It suits you better."

And then the stupid platinum ferret did something that I probably should have seen coming. He reached forward and bit the tip of my nose.  
"Ouch," I yelped, dropping him on the ground, "You damn prat! I should have let him torture you." I put my hand to end of my nose and pulled it away to see a few drops of blood on my fingers. I reared back to kick it, but suddenly Blaise was next to me, pulling me back, but smirking broadly.

McGonagall took out her wand and pointed it at Malfoy. There was a loud crack, and suddenly it was Malfoy lying in a heap, instead of the ferret. He winced and placed his hand on his head and groaned.

"Professor Moody, what on earth were you doing?" McGonagall asked.

"Teaching." He replied gruffly.

"We do _not_ use transfiguration as a punishment. We assign detentions and talk to the student's Head of House!"

"I'll do that then!" He growled, turning to look at Malfoy, who was still sitting on the floor, his eyes watering with pain and probably a bit of humiliation. He glared malevolently at Moody and muttered something that couldn't quite be heard, although I picked up the words 'My father'.

"Oh, your father, eh?" Moody snarled, clunking back towards Malfoy, who scrambled backwards and incidentally against my legs. Blaise gripped my arms to keep me from falling.  
"I know things about your father that would make your hair curl! You tell him I'm keeping a close eye on his son. Now your house head would be Snape, wouldn't it?"

Draco glared, but nodded coldly.  
Moody nodded, "Another good friend… I've been looking forward to having a chat with Snape anyway."

McGonagall sighed, "Valica," I could tell she was distracted with Moody because she called me 'Valica' instead of 'Miss. Lupin'. "Escort Mr. Malfoy to the Hospital Wing, and get your nose checked out while you're there." She looked at the students gathered around, "All of you get back to the Great Hall for dinner." Slowly the students started disappearing. Blaise let go of my arm and I turned to look at him.

"You went to McGonagall?" I asked him.

He nodded.

"Going to squeal to a teacher, what a _Slytherin_ thing to do." And surprisingly, my tone wasn't cold or snappy like it had been the past twenty four hours. It was teasing, like it used to be Blaise.

He snorted, "You just saved _Malfoy_, despite him being a prat. What a heroic and _Gryffindor_ thing to do… or Hufflepuff, maybe."

I smiled, "It was a _Gryffindork_ thing."

And he grinned at me. "Yeah it was."

I was very aware of the trio standing right behind us, and if I would have turned to look, I would have noticed the twins. But I wouldn't have cared to be honest. I looked around quickly to make sure the only Slytherin around was Malfoy, before turning back to Blaise.

And then, I jumped up wrapped my arms around his neck and hugged him harder than I had ever hugged anyone. I heard him laugh as he wrapped his newly muscled arms around my back and squeezed me back as tightly as I was hugging him.  
"I'm so, so, so, so, so sorry!" I murmured, squeezing my eyes shut and felt my cheeks burning red. "I'm horrible and don't deserve you as a friend. I'm such a prat… I'm worse than Malfoy."

He laughed again and spun me around, "Oh shut it, Valica, no one's worse than Malfoy."

He held me for a few more moments, suspended in the air, before he finally set me down. When I looked at him, he was grinning his old, joyful grin.  
"I missed you too, Zucchini." I sniffed, wiping my eyes of the tears that I knew weren't there.

"I know you did." He grinned.

"Is anyone going to take me to the hospital wing, or do I just have to sit here and watch this sickening, blood traitor reunion."

"Shut it, Malfoy." I snapped, rolling my eyes, and grabbing him by the arm to pull him up. He groaned again, and I guess that I had pulled his arm a little harder than was necessary.

I turned to my trio and then noticed the twins and Lee Jordan who were just looking at me confused. "Would one of you guys save me a seat?"

Hermione was the only one to speak up, "Sure, of course."

"Thanks." I smiled warmly at her, before shoving Malfoy lightly towards to the staircase. "Get a move on, Malfoy."

And despite everything that had happened today—the Blasted End Skrewts, getting hexed by Malfoy, having said-ferret being assigned as my partner—I was feeling happy, warm, and content.

And I was basking in that feeling as much as I could, but I knew that most likely, it wouldn't last long.

* * *

**Author's Note- Yes, it was a long wait, but this is the longest chapter I've ever done. It was 27 pages long and 12, 421 words long, so please find it in your hearts to forgive me.:)**

** HPFan101- I'm so glad you liked it, there will probably be one next chapter about his reaction to Valica helping him. And you got Blaise's aggravation with Valica more in this chapter, and I bit of a what happened his summer. There is a lot that happened to Blaise in these past two weeks that I'm not going to reveal until later, and that's what caused him to turn so cold.  
And Gale's letter will fit eventually, and he's going to creep in in a way that you really don't expect. There's going to be a few of these though, where something random with the orphanage just jumps in out of nowhere and you're going to be like 'WHAT ARE YOU DOING' and I will just be standing by giggling madly waiting for you to get it. I hoped you like this chapter and review review review! Pleaseeeeeeeee!**

** xXMizz Alec VolturiXx- Thanks! I hope you liked this chapter! Review please!:))))**

**Guest- Hope your happy with their little reunion.**

**Abigleave- I'm trying, I'm trying! I have to finish an original story first though lol!**

**Marie075- I know, Blaise is a dumby, and Valica has her dramatic problems so they just equal this big mess. It will eventually explain what happened in the past few weeks to change him so dramatically, but now that he has Valica back, you're going to see a bit more of the old Zucchini. And McGongall is kind of limited with what she can do as a wizard, involving in the wizarding world. And just wait until Mrs. Weasley finds out how badly Valica's situation really was... she's going to have a Weasley sized fit.  
And she's important. But she's important in a way that's also similar to Theodore, which is that this book with Blaise and Draco's POV, you're going to get to see more in the Slytherin's minds and why they are the way they are and what I imagined they would have to go through during the events of the next few books. I hate that in all the books, all the Slytherins seem like bad guys and death eaters.  
And I wanted to do the Christmas at home scene, but I can't because the Winter Ball for the TriWizard tournament is over break and I thought y'all would like to see Valica in a dress, squirming.  
And yes, Mark of Athena shattered my heart :'(  
Keep reading and reviewing! :))**

**Myself- I know, I'm horrible at updating quickly. But hopefully the length of this chapter made up for the wait! I hope things have improved since that weekend! And this is random, but I CAN'T BELIEVE YOU'RE ON A TRAIN! I've wanted to ride on a train for forever, but it's never happened! I'm glad you liked Gale's letter. Review pleaseeee!**

**Booklove992001- Hope you enjoyed this chapter! Review please!**

**SparkleQueen5- I don't think I've ever read a review from you before. If I have and I forgot about you... SORRY! But, I hope you liked the chapter. Keep reviewing :)**

**Lots of love everyone. R&R  
~Nic**


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